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jiii 

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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

GIFT   OF* 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  18Q4. 
^Accessions  No . 5*7 Slh  '      Class  No, 


A    HISTORY 


THE   VAUDOIS    CHUECH 


FROM  ITS  ORIGIN, 


AND   OF  THE 


VAUDOIS    OF    PIEDMONT 

TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY. 


BY 

ANTOINE    MONASTIER, 

FORMERLY   PASTOR   IN   THE    CANTON   DE   VAUD,   AND   A   NATIVE    OF   THE   VAUDOIS 
VALLEYS  OF   PIEDMONT. 


^Translate*  from  toe  jFrenclj. 


REVISED   FROM  THE  LONDON  EDITION. 

IfST  I\n 

PUBLISHED   BY  LANE  &   SCOTT, 

200  Mulberry-street. 
JOSEPH     LONGKING,    PRINTER. 

1849. 


6X  W\ 
He* 


Oryc 


^ 


PREFACE  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


The  Vaudois  have  been  preserved  from  age  to  age  amid 
the  Alpine  fastnesses  and  the  valleys  of  Piedmont — a 
perpetual  testimony,  at  once,  to  the  Providence  of  God, 
and  to  the  persecuting  cruelty  of  that  ecclesiastical 
power  which  for  centuries  has  "  exalted  itself  against 
God."  The  history  of  their  trials,  sufferings,  and  de- 
liverances, forms  a  record  full  of  thrilling  interest. 

The  translation  now  offered  to  the  public  was  originally 
prepared  for  the  London  Religious  Tract  Society.  A 
number  of  passages,  consisting  chiefly  of  details  interest- 
ing only  to  descendants  of  the  Vaudois,  have  been 

omitted. 

J.  M'Clintock. 
New-York,  March  30,  1849. 


PREFACE. 


To  demonstrate  their  close  connexion  with  the  primitive 
Church  founded  by  the  apostles,  to  establish  their  right  to 
call  themselves  a  faithful  Church,  and  even  to  be  regarded 
as  forming  the  true  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  on 
earth,  the  Evangelical  churches  appeal  to  the  conformity  of 
their  doctrines,  their  worship,  and  their  internal  life,  with 
the  picture  the  New  Testament  gives  us  of  the  primitive 
Church,  and  with  the  precepts,  rules,  and  regulations  taught 
by  this  same  word.  This  internal  argument  is,  in  fact,  the 
most  important  on  this  question ;  it  has  an  irresistible  force, 
and  is  of  itself  sufficient. 

Yet  there  is  an  external  argument,  which,  without  being 
conclusive,  has  a  certain  value ;  and  which,  if  we  are  to  be- 
lieve the  enemies  of  the  Evangelical  churches,  is  altogether 
wanting  to  them,  namely,  antiquity  of  existence.  "  You  are 
but  of  yesterday,"  cries  the  Romish  Church,  in  a  tone  of 
irony  and  triumph.  "  You  forsook  the  mother  Church  by 
a  revolution,  which  you  pompously  term  a  Reformation; 
but  if  truth  be  on  your  side,  it  must  be  very  modern.  An 
existence  of  little  more  than  three  centuries  is  a  very  recent 
title,  when  it  relates  to  pretensions  of  professing  eternal 
truth.  To  dare  a  conflict  with  Rome,  you  require  what  she 
possesses,  and  what  you  are  destitute  of, — an  ancient  and 
venerable  origin."  Now,  this  attribute  of  the  truth  is  not 
so  completely  wanting  to  the  Evangelical  churches  as  might 
at  first  seem  to  be  the  case.  The  Vaudois  Church  is  a  fink 
that  unites  them  to  the  primitive  Church.  By  means  of  it 
they  establish  the  anterior  existence  of  their  constitution, 
doctrine,  and  worship,  to  that  of  the  papistical  idolatries 
and  errors.  Such  is  the  object  of  the  work  we  now  lay 
before  the  public.  It  is  intended  to  prove,  by  the  fact  of 
the  uninterrupted  existence  of  the  Vaudois  Church,  the 
perpetuity  of  the  primitive  Church,  represented  in  the 
present  day  not  only  by  the  church  of  the  Vaudois  valleys 


6  PREFACE. 

of  Piedmont,  but  by  all  her  sister  Evangelical  churches, 
founded  solely  on  the  word  of  God. 

In  writing  this  work  on  an  essential  part  of  ecclesiastical 
history,  its  author  has  had  in  view  the  glory  of  his  Saviour. 
He  considers  that  however  humble  and  despised  these 
Vaudois  may  have  been  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  forgotten 
by  some,  hated  and  persecuted  by  others,  their  history 
exhibits  and  presents  to  the  imitation  of  the  faithful,  some 
of  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  true  disciples  of  Jesus 
Christ — faith,  fidelity,  humility,  detachment  from  the  world, 
perseverance  and  resignation  under  the  most  painful  trials. 

He  also  believes  that  the  development  of  this  history 
will  demonstrate  the  Lord's  faithfulness  to  the  humble 
members  of  his  Church,  the  wisdom  of  his  plans  and  inten- 
tions in  their  favour,  the  power  he  puts  forth  when  he  pur- 
poses to  deliver  them,  and  the  efficacious  consolations  he 
grants  them  under  their  trials.  He  may  also  venture  to 
hope,  that  in  this  History  it  may  be  perceived,  to  His 
glory,  that  "  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  wise;  and  God  hath  chosen  the 
weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are 
mighty ;  and  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are 
despised,  hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not, 
to  bring  to  naught  things  that  are."  1  Cor.  i,  27,  28. 

The  author  does  not  flatter  himself  that  he  has  produced 
a  perfect  work :  the  subject  was  difficult,  particularly  in  what 
related  to  ancient  times.  The  materials  to  be  consulted 
were  immense ;  while  continual  concealment,  partial  judg- 
ments, and  incomplete  recitals  veiled  the  truth  at  every  step 
in  Catholic  writings.  Nevertheless,  he  thinks  that  he  has 
brought  forward  some  new  facts  of  great  importance,  and 
especially  that  he  has  contributed  to  a  satisfactory  demon- 
stration of  the  ancient  origin  of  the  Vaudois  Church. 

This  has  been  a  labour  of  love.  A  Vaudois  by  birth,  by 
his  affections,  by  all  his  associations,  a  Vaudois  too,  he  trusts, 
by  his  faith,  the  author  has  devoted  more  than  ten  years  to 
accomplish  the  wish  of  his  life — the  composition  of  a  brief 
History  of  the  Vaudois  Church.  In  its  preparation  and 
arrangement  he  has  called  in  the  aid  of  one  of  his  dear  sons, 
who  is  his  constant  assistant  in  his  pastoral  functions. 

May  this  little  work  contribute  to  the  glory  of  our  great 
God  and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ !     Amen. 


CONTENTS. 


Preface  to  the  American  Edition Page  3 

Preface 5 

CHAPTER  I. 

STATE   OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH  AT  THE   ACCESSION   OF  THE   EMPEROR   CON- 

STANTINE.      [A.D.  306.] 

The  great  progress  of  the  gospel  during  the  first  three  centuries— Obstacles  to 

its  promulgation— The  pure  and  lively  faith  of  believers  during  that  period 

The  primitive  constitution  of  the  Church  undergoes  some  alteration  in  the 
episcopate— Commencement  of  the  hierarchy— Places  and  nature  of  public 
worship— Alteration  in  reference  to  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper— Internal 
dissensions— Heresies— The  pure  faith  triumphant— Sects 15 

CHAPTER  II. 

CHANGES  IN  THE  DOCTRINES,  WORSHIP,  AND   LIFE  OF  THE  CHURCH,  AFTER  THE 
TIME  OF  CONSTANTINE.      [FROM  A.D.  337.] 

A  glance  at  the  preceding  state  of  the  Church— The  peace  it  enjoyed  opened  the 
door  for  alterations — Arianism— Pelagianism — Dissensions  and  lamentable 
consequences— Constantine's  protection  of  the  Church  baneful— Fatal  to  the 
clergy  from  the  snares  of  wealth— The  Church  sinks  by  its  dependence  on  the 
emperor— He  elevates  the  episcopate— The  bishop  of  Rome— The  numerous 
converts  from  paganism  bring  their  superstitions  with  them  into  the  Church — 
The  new  ceremonies  become  established  on  the  invasion  of  the  barbarians — 
The  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  weakened — Doctrines  modified  and  al- 
tered— Introduction  of  the  mass  and  many  errors 18 

CHAPTER  III. 

OPPOSITION   WHICH   THE   NEW  DOCTRINES  AND    CEREMONIES    ENCOUNTERED    IN 
THE  CHURCH. 

This  opposition  is  manifested — From  what  quarter  first — Noticed  by  Pope 
Celestin  in  Gaul — Shows  itself  in  Lombardy  in  the  instance  of  Vigilantius— 
Continued  in  France,  under  Serenus— In  Germany— Epistle  of  Zachary— Re- 
flections— Opposition  against  images  under  Charlemagne — Episcopate  of 
Claude  of  Turin— Notice  of  Claude — Passages  from  his  writings — Character 
of  his  ministry— Effects  of  it  in  the  Vaudois  valleys— Considerations  in  sup- 
port—Testimonies     22 

CHAPTER  IV. 

VESTIGES  OF  THE  FAITHFUL  CHURCH  IN  THE  TENTH  AND  ELEVENTH  CENTURIES. 

Traces  of  continued  conflict— State  of  society  in  the  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh 
centuries— The  clergy,  absorbed  by  worldly  interests,  encroach  on  the  civil 
power,  and  neglect  spiritual  interests— Their  errors  and  ignorance— Progress 
of  superstition— Rome  and  the  Church  a  prey  to  anarchy— State  of  the  eleventh 
century  -  Rome,  and  its  efforts  to  raise  and  to  extend  its  power— Truth,  forgot- 


8  CONTENTS. 

ten  by  the  world,  is  preserved  in  remote  places — Marks  which  indicate  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Vaudois— Hatto  di  Vercelli ;  his  writings— Reflections  and  infer- 
ences— Damiano — Radulph  de  St.  Thron — Vaudois  valleys — Bruno  d'Asti — 
Extent  of  his  testimony— Church  in  the  north  of  Italy  different  from  that  of 
Rome Page  34 

CHAPTER  V. 

RELIGIOUS  MANIFESTATIONS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 

Attempts  to  propagate  pure  doctrine — Proceeded  probably  from  the  Vaudois 
valleys  of  the  Alps— Facts  in  support  of  this  opinion— Manifestation  at  Or- 
leans— Arras — Turin  and  the  chateau  of  Montefort — at  Chalons-sur-Marne — 
Heretics  in  France — Goslar — Doubts  respecting  their  doctrines — Absurd  ac- 
cusations refuted — Heresies — Estimate  of  them — Sources  of  this  religious 
movement— Berenger  of  Tours— Indications  of  Vaudois  missionaries    .     .    40 

CHAPTER  VI. 

RELIGIOUS  MANIFESTATIONS  OF  THE  TWELFTH  CENTURY. 

The  power  of  faith — Vaudois  writings — Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry — Scene  of 
their  preaching — their  origin  and  mutual  relation — Scene  of  Henry's  labours 
— Arrested  and  liberated— His  death — Success  of  the  two  preachers— Here- 
tics of  Perigueux — of  Toulouse — Disputation  at  Lombers— Fresh  progress  of 
heresy— Raymond  of  Toulouse- Mention  of  the  Albigenses — Doctrine  of 
Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry — Details — Heretics  along  the  Rhine — at  Cologne — 
Arnulph  at  Rome — Abailard  and  Arnaud  of  Brescia — Details  respecting  Ar- 
naud— Denominations  given  to  heretics — That  of  Vaudois,  or  Valdenses,  pre- 
vails— Testimonies  of  Rainier — of  Bernard  de  Foncald 46 

CHAPTER  VII. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  VAUDOIS. 

Three  etymologies  proposed — Valdenses  erroneously  derived  from  Valdo — Who 
Valdo  was  ? — his  person — his  name — his  work — his  death — Valdenses  derived 
from  the  Latin  vaJlis,  a  valley — Testimony  of  Eberard — of  Bernard  de  Foncald 
— Preferable  etymology  of  the  word  Vaudois — this  latter  origin  justified  .    61 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  VAUDOIS  OF  PIEDMONT  IN  THE  TWELFTH  CENTURY. 

Review  of  the  past — The  Vaudois  referred  to  under  the  name  of  Monlani — 
Testimonies  of  Honorius — of  Eberard  de  Bethune — Giofredo — Decree  of 
Otho  IV. — Pure  doctrines  preserved — A  circumstance  peculiar  to  the  Vaudois 
valleys — The  counts  of  Lucerua,  princes  of  the  Holy  Empire — Armorial  bear- 
ings in  common — Conclusion 69 

CHAPTER  IX. 

TRADITIONS  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  WHICH  ATTEST  THEIR  ANTIQUITY. 

Appeal  to  tradition  in  their  memorials  to  their  sovereigns — These  memorials 
recorded  in  the  writings  of  their  adversaries— Fasicul us  Temporum— Hono- 
rius and  Eberard— Moncta— Polichdorf—  Rainier,  who  calls  them  Leonists— 
Claude  de  Seyssel— Traditions  common  to  the  Vaudois  of  Bohemia  and  other 
places 73 

CHAPTER  X. 

WRITINGS  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Original  writings  of  the  Vaudois— Collected  by  Leger— Vaudois  writings  sent  to 
Perrin— their  general  characteristics— dogmatical,  practical,  polemical ;  sacred 
poetry— their  authenticity— They  are  Vaudois— written  in  a  dialect  of  the 
ancient  Romance  language—  Antiquity  of  their  date  attested— Anonymous 
witness— Peter  the  Venerable — Itaynouard— The  Noble  Lesson— Interna] 
proof  from  its  representation  of  Antichrist— Objections  and  refutations— In- 
ferences   ,    75 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  BELIEF  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Source  of  faith  for  the  Vaudois— Their  rule  of  faith— They  reject  every  human 
doctrine— Their  Confession  of  faith— Vain  questions  rejected— They  believed 
the  truths  of  the  Apostle's  Creed,  and  admitted  that  of  Athanasius — Faith  in 
God,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit— The  fall  of  man— Redemption— The 
state  of  man  after  death — The  sacraments — Submission  to  civil  authority — 
Their  silence  on  election,  predestination,  etc.— Various  accusations  of  their 
adversaries  examined— Conclusion Page  86 

CHAPTER  XII. 

MORAL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIFE   OF   THE  VAUDOIS. 

General  survey — Severe  discipline — Barbes,  or  pastors — Mutual  relation  of  the 
pastors— Synods— Schools  of  the  barbes— Missionaries— Instruction  of  children 
— Fraternal  correction — Ecclesiastical  punishments — Renunciation  of  taverns 
and  dancing — Knowledge  of  the  Bible — Testimony  of  Rainier — effects  of  this 
study— Morality,  testimony  of  Rainier— of  St.  Bernard— of  Claude  de  Seyssel — 
of  De  Thou— of  Botta— Conclusion 93 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MISSIONARY   ZEAL   AND   PROSELYTISM   OF  THE   ANCIENT  VAUDOIS. 

Source  and  cause  of  this  character— Testimonies  of  Bernard  de  Foncald— of  an 
anoynymous  writer  on  this  spirit  of  proselytism — Examples — Testimonies — 
Bernard  de  Foncald— Mapee— Rainier,  a  remarkable  passage— Planta— On  the 
unknown  and  acephalous  priests 100 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

PERSECUTION   OF  THE  VAUDOIS   IN   THE   THIRTEENTH   CENTURY. 

The  Vaudois  spread  through  different  countries— in  France— in  Germany  and 
Italy — in  Austria  and  Bohemia— Preparations  for  a  general  persecution — De- 
cree of  Otho  IV.  in  Piedmont— of  Count  Thomas— against  the  Albigenses  in 
France — Means  of  conversion — Counsel  of  Dominic — Public  Disputations — 
Excommunication  of  Raymond  of  Toulouse — Crusades— Dominic — The  inqui- 
sition invented— approved— The  heresy  re-appears — New  measures — Success 
of  the  Dominicans  or  of  the  inquisition  against  the  Vaudois  of  Germany— 
Echard,  the  persecutor,  converted    .    .  *»» 105 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  VAUDOIS,    RETREATING   FROM  PERSECUTION,   FOUND  COLONIES   IN   THE   ALTS. 

The  effect  of  preceding  persecutions— In  their  flight  the  Vaudois  direct  their 
course  towards  the  valleys — The  Vaudois  churches  embarrassed — Colonies  in 
Apulia  and  Calabria— Proofs  and  documents— Situation  of  the  colonies — Pros- 
perity—Aggrandizement—On what  occasion— Their  relation  to  the  valleys— 
The  Vaudois  spread  throughout  Italy  visited— New  colonies  in  Provence — 
The  Vaudois  still  numerous— Threatened  in  the  valleys 114 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

FIRST  PERSECUTIONS  KNOWN,  AGAINST  THE  VAUDOIS  OF  PIEDMONT,  IN  THE  FOUR- 
TEENTH AND  FIFTEENTH  CENTURIES. 

The  number  of  Vaudois  in  Dauphine  and  Piedmont— The  inquisition  at  work- 
effects— Persecution  under  Clement  VI.— Too  slow  for  the  wishes  of  Gregory 
XI. — Reprisals  of  the  Vaudois — The  persecution  continues— Borclli  against 
Susa  and  the  valley  of  Pragela — Ravages — Persecution  of  Vcleti — Vaudois 
burned  at  Coni— Orders  of  lolante — Martyrs— Crusade  of  Capitaneis— Prepa- 
rations—March— Attack  on  the  valleys— Results— Peace  granted  by  Charles 

II.— Vaudois  of  the  valley  of  the  Po,  persecuted  in  1500 117 

1* 


10  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVII- 

THE   VAUDOIS    AND  THE    REFORMATION   AT  THE  BEGINNING    OF   THE   SIXTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Small  number  of  the  Vaudois— Reduced  to  conceal  themselves  or  to  dissemble- 
When  at  the  worst,  the  Reformation  begins — Glance  at  the  Reformation- 
Eagerness  of  the  Vaudois  to  gain  information  respecting  it — Martin  of  the 
vale  of  Lucerna— Morel  of  Merindol,  and  Masson  of  Burgundy  in  Switzerland 
and  Germany — A  document  which  gives  an  account  of  the  state  of  the  Vau- 
dois— Advice  asked — Affecting  and  kind  reply  of  (Ecolampadius — Bucer  and 
Capito  visited — Sympathy  and  agreement  of  the  reformers  with  the  Vaudois — 
Return  of  the  two  Vaudois — Masson  a  martyr — Answer  of  the  reformers  care- 
fully examined — Synod  of  Angrogna  in  1532,  to  deliberate  upon  it — Decision 
of  the  Synod — Decision  on  the  public  service — all  dissimulation  branded — Dis- 
agreement— Relation  between  the  Vaudois  and  the  churches  of  Bohemia  and 
Moravia Page  132 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

IMMEDIATE  EFFECTS  OF  THE  UNION  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  CHURCH  WITH  THE  REFORM 
ED  CHURCH. 

Renewal  of  persecution  in  Provence — of  Bersour  in  Piedmont — Martyr — Cessa- 
tion of  the  persecution — Martin  Gonin  a  martyr— The  first  French  Bible  print- 
ed at  Neufchatel,  at  the  expense  of  the  Vaudois — Zeal  for  Divine  service  in 
public — The  use  of  the  French  language  instead  of  the  Vaudois — Occupation 
of  Piedmont  by  France  rather  favourable  to  the  Vaudois  cause — Complaints 
of  Belvedere — Persecution  of  the  Vaudois  of  Provence — Their  final  destruc- 
tion— Tranquil  state  of  the  Vaudois  of  Piedmont — Temples  built  in  the  valleys 
— Several  martyrs  at  Chambery — Danger  incurred  by  two  pastors — Several 
pastors  arrive  in  the  valleys— A  challenge  and  discussion — Attempts  of  the 
parliament  of  Turin  against  the  Vaudois — Baronius — Sartoire  and  Varaillc 
martyrs — a  third  escapes — New  menaces  against  the  Vaudois  without  effect 
— Measures  in  their  favour 143 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  VAUDOIS,  ONCE  MORE    UNDER  THE  RULE   OF  THEIR  LEGITIMATE  PRINCE,  ARE 
PERSECUTED  WITH  THE  UTMOST  RIGOUR. 

Return  of  the  Vaudois  under  the  rule  of  Tavoy — Emmanuel — Philibert  publishes 
a  persecuting  edict  in  1560 — The  inquisition  active  in  the  plain — Martyrs  at 
Carignan,  Meane,  Barcelonette — Measures  taken  by  the  Vaudois — Cruelties — 
The-duke's  commissioners  to  the  valleys — The  monks  of  Abbadie  and  their 
victims — Momentary  concession  of  the  duke — Mission  of  Poussevin — Public 
disputation — Final  measures — Preparations  for  defence — The  count  La  Tri- 
nite  comes  to  the  valleys  with  an  army— Has  recourse  to  a  stratagem — Re- 
moves the  notables — Increasing  oppression — Alliance  with  the  valley  of  Clu- 
sone— the  Vaudois,  attacked  again  and  again  in  their  refuge  of  Pra-di-torre,  al- 
ways conquerors — Truce — Signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace — Basis  of  the  future 
relations  of  the  Vaudois  to  their  sovereign 162 

CHAPTER  XX. 

DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  VAUDOIS   COLONIES   IN   APULIA   AND  CALABRIA. 

State  of  the  colonies — Influence  of  the  Reformation — Request  for  a  pastor  from 
Geneva— Mission  and  success  of  Pascal— Persecution— Surprises— Horrible 
punishments — Total  destruction  of  the  colonies — Martyrdom  of  Pascal       191 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  BENEFITS   OF  THE  PEACE   ATTENDED   WITH   GREAT   EVILS. 

The  valleys  relieved  in  their  distress— Annoyances  on  the  part  of  the  priests- 
Unjust  order — Intrigues — The  valleys  under  the  governor  Castrocaro — Em- 
bassies from  the  princes  of  the  Palatinate  and  Saxony — Persecution  in  the 
marquisate  of  Saluzzo— St.  Bartholomew— Attack  on  the  valley  of  Perosa  — 


CONTENTS.  11 

Death  of  the  good  duchess  Margaret— Reign  of  Charles  Emmanuel— The  val- 
leys under  French  dominion— Their  return  to  that  of  Savoy— Means  employ- 
ed to  bring  over  the  Vaudois  to  popery— The  exiles— Martyrdom  of  Coupin— 
The  Vaudois  militia  in  the  field — Fine,  on  account  of  cemeteries — The  valley 
of  Perosa  occupied  by  the  duke's  troops— Secret  practices  of  the  inquisition- 
Abduction  of  children— The  Vaudois  on  their  frontiers— Ineffectual  attempt  to 
establish  the  monks  and  the  mass  in  the  Vaudois  communes — Invasion  of  Pied- 
mont by  the  French — A  dreadful  plague  carries  off  half  the  population  Page  198 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  VAUDOIS.  CALUMNIATED  AT  COURT,  ARE  MISUNDERSTOOD   AND  ILL-TREATED. 

Unjust  complaints  against  them— Letters  patent  refused— Complete  and  final 
expulsion  of  the  Vaudois  from  the  valley  of  the  Po — Disputation  with  the 
priests— Plan  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  the  Extirpation  of  Heretics 
— Strokes  ready  to  fall  discovered  in  time 230 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CRUELTIES   COMMITTED   BY   THE   PAPISTS    IN   THE   VALLEYS. 

Expulsion  of  the  Vaudois  from  the  plain  of  Lucerna— The  Piedmontese  army  in 
tlie  valleys — Massacres — Heroic  conduct  of  Janavel — The  Vaudois  under  arms 
— Truce — Embassy  from  the  Swiss  evangelical  cantons — Measures  of  Great 
Britain  and  other  Protestant  powers— Collections— Conferences  at  Pignerol— 
Mediation  of  France— Signing  of  the  treaty 246 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

PERSECUTION   AND   EMIGRATION.      [1656—1686.] 

Erection  of  the  fort  of  La  Torre — Vexations  committed  by  the  garrison— Con- 
demnation of  the  distinguished  Vaudois — Order  for  the  cessation  of  all  reli- 
gious services  at  San  Giovanni — Resistance  of  the  Synod— Leger  condemned 
to  death — De  Bagnols — The  exiles — An  army  surprises  San  Giovanni — Ge- 
nerosity of  the  Vaudois — Defeat  of  the  army — Mediation  of  France— Proceed- 
ings of  the  evangelical  cantons — Conference — Charter  of  1664,  denominated 
that  of  Turin — Arbitration  of  Louis  XIV. — Peaceful  times — Revocation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes — Requirement  of  the  king  of  France— Edict  for  the  abolition 
of  evangelical  worship— Embassy  of  the  Swiss  cantons — Project  of  emigra- 
tion— Indecision  of  the  valleys— Attacks  upon  them  by  Catinat  and  the  army 
of  Savoy — Submission  of  the  Vaudois — Their  imprisonment — Leidet  a  martyr 
— Negotiations  of  the  cantons  for  the  release  of  the  prisoners,  and  their  de- 
parture for  Switzerland— State  of  the  Vaudois  in  the  fortresses— Their  travel- 
ling in  the  depth  of  winter,  and  their  arrival  at  Geneva 274 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  VAUDOIS   REFUGEES  IN  SWITZERLAND    AND  GERMANY  RETURN,  IN  ARMS,  TO 
THEIR  COUNTRY,  AND  OBTAIN  PEACE.      [1686-1690.] 

Their  arrival  at  Geneva — Distribution  in  Switzerland — Project  and  first  attempt 
for  returning  to  the  valleys — Offers  of  the  elector  of  Brandenburg  and  the 
German  princes— Henri  Arnaud— Second  attempt— Departure  of  the  Vaudois 
for  Brandenburg,  the  Palatinate,  and  Wirtemberg—  Return  of  the  greater  part 
to  Switzerland— Third  attempt— The  Vaudois  having  assembled  in  the  wood 
of  Prangins,  cross  the  lake — Enter  Savoy — Defeat  an  armed  force  at  Salaber- 
trand— Enter  victoriously  into  their  valleys— Difficulties  of  their  situation- 
Cruel  measure — The  Vaudois,  masters  of  the  upper  valleys,  attack  that  of  Lu- 
cerna—Conquerors,  afterwards  repulsed— Retire  to  the  heights— Desertions- 
Forced  successively,  they  take  refuge  in  Balsille— Attacked  in  vain  before 
winter — Providential  supply — Sufferings — Attempt  at  negotiation — Attack  of 
Balsille— Siege— Wonderful  flight— Good  news— Peace— Return  of  the  pri- 
soners— Bobbio  restored  to  the  Vaudois — Arnaud  before  the  duke — Address 
of  Victor  Amadeus — Vaudois  in  the  service  of  the  duke— Return  of  the  scat- 
tered Vaudois  to  their  valleys 307 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  VAUDOIS  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY    AND  DURING    THE  FRENCH   REVO- 
;  LUTION.      [1690-1814.1 

The  Vaudois  under  the  banners  of  their  prince— Their  re-establishment  in  their 
heritages— Their  numbers— Edict  of  1694— Exile  of  the  French  Protestants 
domiciled  in  the  valleys — Colonies  of  Wirternberg — Death  of  Amaud — At- 
tempts at  oppression— Intermission— Foreign  subsidies— Siege  of  Turin  in 
1706— Victor  Amadeus  in  the  valleys— Devotedness  of  the  Vaudois— New 
vexations— Expulsion  of  the  Vaudois  from  Pragela— The  French  and  those 
who  had  become  Catholics— Edict  of  20th  June,  1730— Summary  of  the  edicts 
concerning  the  Vaudois— Effects  of  the  French  revolution— Guard  of  the  fron- 
tiers by  the  Vaudois— Unjust  suspicions  of  their  fidelity — Project  of  a  massacre 
rendered  abortive— Arrests— Petition  to  the  king— Slight  favours— Revolu- 
tionary spirit  in  Piedmont — Abdication  of  Charles  Emmanuel — New  state  of 
the  Vaudois — The  Austro-Russians  in  Piedmont — Carmagnola — Wounded 
French — Bagration — Re-union  of  Piedmont  to  France — Misery  to  the  valleys 
—Distress  of  the  pastors— Allotment  of  rents,  and  funds  for  their  use— New 
consistorial  arrangement — Earthquake — Sketch  of  the  religious  state  of  the 
Vaudois— MM.  Mondon,  Geymet,  and  Peyran— New  field  opened  for  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  Vaudois Page  345 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  VALLEYS   SINCE  THE  GENERAL  PEACE.      [1814-1846.] 

The  restoration— Conduct  of  the  valleys  in  1814  and  1815— Deception— Edict 
which  replaced  them  in  their  ancient  condition — Measures  taken  in  conse- 
quence— Temple  of  San  Giovanni-  Question  of  the  revenues  of  the  Romish 
clergy — Salaries  allowed  to  pastors — Pastoral  letters  of  the  bishops  of  Pine- 
rolo — Charles  Felix— Charles  Albert — Cessation  of  abuses — Restrictions— Fo- 
reign benefactors  of  the  Vaudois — Frederic  William  III. — Count  de  Walburg 
— Evangelical  chapel  at  Turin — Foundation  of  two  hospitals  for  the  valleys- 
Collections — Funds  formed  at  Berlin — English  benefactors — College  of  La 
Torre— Schools — Walloon  Committee— Swiss  cantons — Erection  of  the  con- 
vent of  La  Torre — Anxieties  in  the  valleys — Visit  of  Charles  Albert  to  his  sub- 
jects      376 


APPENDIX. 

Pieces  given  in  the  Appendix  to  the  original  work — The  three  Catalogues— The 
Noble  Lesson 381) 

A  Geographical  and  Statistical  Description  of  the  Valleys  of  Pied- 
mont— Geography 390 

The  Valley  of  San  Martino— The  Half- Valley  of  Peiosa— The  Valley  of  Lu- 
cerna 392 

statistics. 

Population — Climate  and  productions — Religious  administration  of  the  Vaudois 
valleys     .  393 


HISTORY   OF  THE   VAUDOIS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

STATE    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH    AT   THE    ACCESSION    OF 
THE    EMrEROR    CONSTANTINE.    [A.  D.    306.] 

Not  three  centuries  from  the  death  and  resurrection  of  the 
Saviour  had  passed  away,  before  the  good  news  of  salvation 
through  him  was  spread  over  all  the  provinces  of  the  Roman 
empire,  and  received  with  joy  by  a  considerable  part  of  their 
population.  Faith  in  Jesus,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  was 
proclaimed  from  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  to  those  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean ;  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile  to  those  of  the 
Ebro,  the  Rhone,  the  Rhine,  the  Danube,  and  the  Euphrates ; 
in  all  the  countries  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean, 
even  to  the  most  retired  valleys  of  the  Iberian  Mountains,*  of 
the  Alps,  Hemus,  and  Atlas,  and  especially  through  all  the 
cities  that  were  scattered  over  this  immense  tract. 

The  gradual  extension  of  the  Christian  religion  was  not 
accomplished  without  conflict  and  suffering  on  the  part  of  its 
professors.  Its  progress  first  irritated,  and  then  alarmed,  those 
who  were  attached  to  national  traditions,  dissolute  manners,  and 
the  worship  of  false  gods,  as  it  did  the  suspicious  and  tyrannical 
government  of  the  Roman  emperors.  The  Christians  were  very 
soon  regarded  as  enemies  of  their  country  and  rebels,  and,  as 
such,  were  exposed  to  the  most  terrible  persecutions.  Thou- 
sands and  hundreds  of  thousands  were  destroyed  by  fire  and 
sword,  by  instruments  of  torture,  and  by  the  fangs  of  wild 
beasts  in  the  amphitheatres.  But  as  the  grain  of  corn  falls  into 
the  ground,  and  increases  a  hundredfold,  so  the  blood  of  the 

[*  Namely,  the  Pyrenees  and  their  olLhooU.] 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

martyrs  became  the  seed  of  the  Church ;  the  faith  of  Christian 
confessors  spoke  to  the  heart,  and  won  more  souls  to  the  ser- 
vice of  their  Lord  than  the  terrors  of  punishment  could  drive 
from  him. 

During  the  first  three  centuries  the  church  was  composed,  for 
the  most  part,  of  persons  firmly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  its 
doctrines,  and  who  showed  forth,  by  a  pure,  holy,  and  devoted 
life,  the  virtues  of  Him  who  had  called  them  out  of  darkness 
into  his  marvellous  light.  The  contempt  and  hatred  with  which 
the  Christians  were  treated  by  the  Pagans,  preserved  them,  in 
general,  from  a  pernicious  alliance  with  the  vicious  and  indif- 
ferent ;  and  by  breaking  the  ties  which  might  have  held  them 
fast  to  a  seducing  world,  purified  their  faith,  and  united  them 
more  closely  to  one  another,  and  to  their  Savioar. 

The  constitution  of  the  Church  remained  nearly  the  same  as 
in  the  apostolic  age.*  Every  believer  was  an  active  member 
of  the  Christian  community,  which  was  under  the  guidance  of 
one  or  more  pastors,  whose  special  office  it  was  to  preach  the 
word,  and  watch  over  souls.  The  pastor  of  a  Christian  com- 
munity, or  one  of  them,  if  there  were  several  pastors,  bore  also 
the  particular  title  of  Bishop,  that  is,  overseer,  on  account  of  the 
inspection  which  it  became  him  to  exercise  over  all  the  mem- 
bers of  his  flock,  and  the  influence  that  was  conceded  to  his 
piety  and  example.  But  though  this  distinction  exposed  its 
possessor  to  greater  danger  in  times  of  persecution,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  many  of  those  who  obtained  it  did  not  entirely  escape 
the  seductions  of  pride  and  ambition.  The  pastors  of  the  larger 
churches  soon  obtained,  or  preferred,  the  title  of  bishop  to  that 
of  elder,  and  easily  assumed  a  supremacy  over  their  fellow- 
labourers  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  The  fraternal  connexion 
that  subsisted  between  the  apostles  and  the  companions  of  their 
work,  as  that  of  St.  Paul  with  Sylvanus  and  Timothy,  was  very 
soon  succeeded  by  a  dangerous  hierarchy.  Still,  the  injury 
which  this  tendency  might  have  inflicted  on  that  Christian 
liberty  and  brotherhood  which  were  then  so  conspicuous,  was 
considerably  lessened  by  the  individual  activity  which  the  diffi- 

*  [A  few  passages  in  the  first  and  second  chapters,  and  other  places,  relating 
to  the  early  constitution  of  the  Church,  its  officers,  rites,  and  connexion  with 
civil  governments,  which  are  retained  without  alteration,  must  be  regarded  as 
containing  the  individual  views  of  the  author.] 


INTERNAL  DISSENSIONS.  17 

cult  position  of  the  Church,  in  the  midst  of  Pagans,  imposed  on 
each  of  its  members. 

Another  danger,  arising  from  within,  also  threatened  the  con- 
stitution and  life  of  the  Church,  in  this  prosperous  period  of  its 
existence,  namely,  the  pre-eminence  acquired  by  the  bishops  of 
Antioch,  Alexandria,  Carthage,  and  Rome,  over  the  other  bishops, 
and  the  ill  use  they  often  made  of  the  deference  that  was  yielded 
to  them  by  courtesy.  The  bishop  of  Rome  especially  took  the 
precedence  of  all  the  other  bishops,  on  many  occasions,  and 
even  aspired  to  a  certain  authority  in  matters  of  religion.  But 
these  pretensions  encountered  resistance  in  the  rivalry  of  other 
apostolic  or  metropolitan  churches,  and  in  the  independent 
nature  of  the  Christian  life. 

The  Christian  worship  preserved  its  primitive  simplicity.  It 
was  held  in  private  houses ;  and  often  in  secret  or  in  deserts. 
Some  places  of  worship,  however,  had  been  erected  at  the  close 
of  the  third  century.  Prayers,  the  singing  of  hymns,  reading 
the  Scriptures,  preaching,  and  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  were  the  ordinary  acts  of  Divine  service.  The  Chris- 
tians, who  had  witnessed  the  pompous  ceremonial  of  paganism, 
and  regarded  idolatry  with  detestation,  excluded  all  images 
from  their  places  of  meeting,  and  every  idle  ceremony  from 
their  worship.  Nevertheless,  some  observances,  such  as  the 
use  of  white  vestments,  unction,  and  the  presence  of  sponsors, 
were  introduced  at  the  administration  of  baptism ;  and  the  holy 
supper,  celebrated  in  remembrance  of  those  who  had  died  in 
the  Lord,  and  as  a  sign  of  perpetual  communion  with  them, 
sometimes  degenerated  into  a  ceremony  for  their  supposed 
advantage. 

In  relation  to  doctrine,  the  Church  had  already  to  sustain 
severe  contests  both  without  and  within  :  without,  against  the 
attacks  of  Pagan  philosophers  and  Jews ;  but  especially  within, 
against  the  errors  that  were  often  propagated  by  men  of  piety, 
who  were  under  the  influence  of  some  inveterate  notion,  some 
peculiar  opinion,  not  in  conformity  with  the  true  faith,  accord- 
ing to  the  belief  of  the  Church.  From  being  isolated  partisans 
of  a  new  doctrine,  they  rapidly  became  leaders  of  a  sect,  by  the 
impression  which  their  talents,  powers  of  persuasion,  and  the 
very  singularity  of  their  sentiments,  made  on  men  whose  turn 
of  mind,  dispositions,  and  circumstances,  were  similar  to  their 


18  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

own.  But  diversities  of  doctrine,  heresies,  and  the  formation 
of  sects  within  the  pale  of  the  visible  Church,  ought  not  to 
astonish  those  who  are  aware  that  an  ardent  imagination,  the 
pride  of  reason,  and  particular  prejudices,  prevent  men  from 
seeing  the  truth ;  and  that  the  profession  of  the  Gospel  has  not 
always  eradicated  these  unhappy  dispositions  from  persons  who, 
wishing  "  to  be  something,"  cannot  consent  to  be  classed  among 
"  the  poor  in  spirit." 

Let  us  not  be  surprised,  then,  that  the  Christian  Church  of 
the  first  three  centuries  had  to  defend  the  truth  against  heresies 
brought  forth  and  nourished  in  her  bosom :  let  us  only  rejoice 
in  her  victories ;  for,  invigorated  from  on  high  by  her  Divine 
Leader,  to  whom  she  applied  with  confidence  in  all  her  sorrows 
and  conflicts,  no  less  than  in  the  days  of  her  prosperity,  she 
retained,  in  the  faith  and  love  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  form 
of  sound  doctrine ;  she  kept  that  good  thing  which  was  conr- 
mitted  unto  her. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CHANGES  IN  THE  DOCTRINES,  WORSHIP,  AND  LIFE  OP 
THE  CHURCH,  AFTER  THE  TIME  OF  CONSTANTINE.  [FROM 
A.  D.   337.] 

The  germs  of  numerous  errors  may  be  detected  in  the  preced- 
ing period,  but  they  were  checked  and  arrested  in  their  pro- 
gress ;  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  abundance  of  healthy,  vigorous, 
and  fruitful  plants  which  covered  the  soil  of  the  Church ;  and, 
on  the  other,  by  the  little  time  and  space  which  incessant  per- 
secutions allowed  to  perverse  or  ambitious  spirits  for  the  forma- 
tion and  propagation  of  their  opinions. 

But  no  sooner  was  a  season  of  external  peace  granted  to  the 
Church,  along  with  numerous  temporal  advantages,  than  the 
Christian  life,  sound  doctrine,  and  Divine  worship  were  dete- 
riorated. Arius,  a  presbyter  of  Alexandria,  about  the  year  318 
or  321,  put  forth  a  system  of  doctrine  which  goes  to  shake  the 
very  foundations  of  the  Gospel,  by  denying  the  divinity  of 
Christ,  and  regarding  him  only  as  the  first  and  most  excellent 
of  created  beings.  From  its  first  rise,  this  heresy,  which  re- 
duces the  faith  of  the  Gospel  to  a  very  inconsiderable  thing, 


ARIANISM— PELAGIAN1SM.  19 

and  sets  the  mind  of  man  at  ease,  was  welcomed  by  many  with 
enthusiasm.  Condemned  at  the  Council  of  Nice,  (A.  D.  325,) 
victorious  under  Constantius,  combated  afresh  and  with  success 
by  those  who  remained  faithful  to  the  apostolic  doctrine,  it 
nevertheless  saw  its  principles  adopted  by  numerous  sections  of 
the  Church.  Professed  in  succession  by  the  Visigoths,  Vandals, 
Suevians,  and  Burgundians,  it  invaded  Italy,  Greece,  Gaul, 
Spain,  and  Africa. 

Besides  many  other  errors,  which  cannot  be  here  enumerated, 
there  arose  one,  in  the  year  412,  of  which  the  effects  were 
scarcely  less  deplorable  than  those  of  Arianism.  This  was  the 
doctrine  of  Pelagius,  a  British  monk,  on  free-will,  which  ascribed 
to  every  man  the  liberty  [power]  of  determining  himself  for 
good,  as  easily  as  for  evil,  and  saw  in  the  dominion  of  sin  nothing 
more  than  a  habit  from  which  the  will  could  release  itself.  This 
doctrine,  by  attributing  too  much  power  to  man,  and  denying 
his  inability  to  effect  his  own  salvation,  nullified,  or  at  least 
greatly  impaired,  the  doctrine  of  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ, 
disowned  regeneration,  and  presented  sanctification  in  a  false 
light.  This  system,  a  little  modified,  and  with  something  more 
of  a  Christian  colouring,  obtained  many  partisans,  in  spite  of 
the  powerful  opposition  of  Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo ;  and  the 
merit  of  good  works,  which  it  favoured,  insensibly  was  received 
into  the  belief  of  a  great  many  churches,  especially  in  the  East 
and  in  France. 

Endless  disputes,  and  deplorable  conflicts,  in  the  majority  of 
churches,  and  between  different  churches,  were  the  result  of  all 
these  novel  doctrines.  It  is  almost  needless  to  add,  that  true 
faith  necessarily  declined,  continually  showed  less  vigour,  and 
was  everywhere  more  uncommon. 

One  great  event  exerted  a  powerful  influence  on  the  desti- 
nies of  the  Church,  namely,  the  protection  which  an  Emperor, 
Constantine  the  Great,  granted  to  the  Christians,  and  the  posi- 
tion in  which  he  placed  Christianity,  by  substituting  it  for 
Paganism,  and  declaring  it  to  be  the  religion  of  the  state. 
Though  certain  advantages,  such  as  liberty  of  worship,  and 
freedom  from  persecution,  were  gained  for  the  Christians  by 
this  event,  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  great  evils  followed  in 
its  train. 

Favoured  by  the  Emperor,  put  in  possession  of  the  Pagan 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

temples,  and  of  the  honours  and  credit  formerly  granted  to  the 
priests  of  idolatry,  and  loaded  with  wealth,  the  bishops  were 
soon  assailed  by  all  the  temptations  of  ambition,  of  the  love  of 
the  world,  and  of  power.  Every  functionary  of  the  Church, 
treading  in  the  same  path,  saw  his  own  consideration  increased 
by  the  external  advantages  thus  held  out,  and,  like  his  superiors, 
was  eager  to  grasp  them.  The  distinction  between  the  eccle- 
siastics and  lay  members  became  more  established.  The  digni- 
taries of  the  Church  adopted  a  particular  costume.  Simplicity 
and  humility  gave  place  to  vanity,  ambition,  and  pride,  and  the 
ecclesiastical  profession  was  entered  by  numbers  for  the  sake  of 
the  temporal  advantages  that  were  attached  to  it. 

Another  great  evil,  also,  which  resulted  from  the  new  position 
in  which  the  Church  was  placed  by  the  Emperor's  protection, 
was  this  protection  itself.  For  to  accept  a  protector,  is  just  so 
far  to  acknowledge  dependence  upon  him.*  Men  think  they 
have  obtained  a  stay  and  defence,  and  find  themselves  op- 
pressed by  a  yoke.  The  Christian  Church  soon  perceived  this 
to  be  the  result.  The  emperors  interfered  in  the  choice  of  the 
metropolitan  bishops,  secured  their  submission,  and  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  by  means  of  their  numerous  dependents, 
influenced  the  decisions  of  the  councils. 

In  return  for  the  advantages  which  the  Emperors  derived 
from  the  submission  of  the  bishops  of  Rome,  we  find  that  they 
supported  the  pretensions  of  the  latter  to  pre-eminence  over 
all  other  bishops,  and  facilitated  their  success.  By  their  assist- 
ance, the  bishops  of  Rome  obtained  a  general  recognition  of  their 
title,  and  their  claim  to  be  the  popes,  or  fathers  of  Christen- 
dom. 

The  public  services  of  the  Church,  likewise,  were  affected  by 
this  substitution  of  Christianity  for  Paganism  as  the  state-religion. 
The  worshippers  of  idols,  who,  yielding  to  the  force  of  events, 
made  a  profession  of  the  gospel,  brought  their  superstitions  with 
them  into  the  Church.  It  was  thought  necessary  to  make  some 
concessions  to  them.  The  temples  were  adorned ;  recourse  was 
had  to  the  magnificence  and  pomp  of  the  ancient  rituals,  both 


*  Another  most  lamentable  consequence  of  such  protection  is,  that  men  are 
impelled  to  uphold  by  carnal  weapons  what  is  to  be  propagated  and  defended 
only  by  spiritual  means,  such  as  the  faith,  &c. 


CHANGES  IN  DOCTRINES  AND  WORSHIP.  21 

Jewish  and  Pagan,  from  which  were  borrowed  emblems,  images, 
statues,  vestments,  altars,  sacred  vases,  and  ceremonies.* 

In  this  manner,  under  the  influence  of  a  complication  of  causes, 
in  a  time  of  political  troubles,  which  paralyzed  the  minds  and  the 
efforts  of  the  truly  pious,  (always  few  in  number,)  that  idolatrous 
ritual  which  invaded  the  Latin  or  Roman  Church,  established  and 
developed  itself,  and  has  been  perpetuated  to  the  present  day. 

The  authority  of  the  holy  Scriptures  was  weakened  by  the 
intrusion  of  apocryphal  books  into  the  canon  of  inspired  writings ; 
by  the  increasing  importance  and  value  attached  to  the  opinions 
of  the  Fathers,  or  ancient  ecclesiastical  writers ;  by  the  preten- 
sions of  councils  to  fix  the  sense  of  the  sacred  text  in  an  exclu- 
sive manner ;  and,  lastly,  by  the  usurpation  of  spiritual  power 
by  the  popes,  in  their  pretended  quality  of  successors  of  St.  Pe- 
ter and  St.  Paul. 

The  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith  having  been  disturbed, 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  underwent  continual  modifications, 
and  a  ritual  of  man's  device  supplanted  the  "  worship  of  God  in 
spirit  and  in  truth."  We  shall  not  enter  into  the  history  of  these 
changes ;  they  have  only  an  indirect  connexion  with  our  narra- 
tive, that  is,  in  consequence  of  the  resistance  made  to  them  by 
the  faithful.  For  enabling  us  to  understand  subsequent  events, 
it  will  be  sufficient  to  recollect  that  the  worship  of  images  was 
generally  introduced,  and  became  an  essential  part  of  the  Romish 
religion.  The  Mass,  originally  designed  to  commemorate  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Saviour,  gradually  became  itself  a  pretended  sacri- 
fice, though  an  unbloody  one,  of  the  body  of  Christ,  for  the  re- 
mission of  the  sins  both  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  Twenty 
popes,  probably,  have  contributed  to  form  the  canon  of  the  Mass, 
each  one  of  them  devising  some  new  forms,  some  additions  to  its 
ceremonial.  Having  commenced  so  promising  an  undertaking, 
why  should  they  stop  short  ?  They  proceeded  to  invent  purga- 
tory, indulgences,  penances,  vigils,  fastings,  Lent,  dispensations, 
auricular  confession,  extreme  unction,  absolution,  and  masses  for 
the  dead, — all  but  so  many  means  of  entangling  souls,  and  hold- 
ing them  in  a  fatal  security,  as  well  as  of  attracting  to  the  church 
a  tremendous  authority  and  boundless  wealth. 

Lastly,  by  the  doctrine  of  the  real  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  in 

*  The  cross  being  adopted  as  a  standard,  quickly  became  an  object  of  worship, 
as  his  banner  was  for  the  Roman  soldier. 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  sacrament  of  the  Supper,  and  the  adoration  of  the  Host,  the 
Church  fell  back  into  idolatry.  Composed  of  the  ruins  of  Jewish 
formalism,  pagan  superstitions,  disfigured  fragments  of  the  gospel, 
mixed  with  human  speculations  and  reveries,  the  Latin  Catholic, 
apostolic,  and  Roman  Church  has  for  ten  or  twelve  centuries 
been  toiling  to  collect  together,  arrange,  amend,  and  settle  this 
strange  medley,  which  she  has  decorated  with  the  imposing  title 
of  one  and  infallible. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   OPPOSITION    WHICH  THE  NEW   DOCTRINES    AND  CEREMO- 
NIES ENCOUNTERED  IN  THE  CHURCH. 

The  right  path  of  sound  doctrine,  the  purity  and  simplicity  of 
the  "  life  hidden  with  Christ,"  were  not  abandoned  by  the  Church 
without  a  long  resistance  from  the  sound  part  of  its  members. 
Who  can  recount  all  the  efforts  made  to  avert  so  great  a  calami- 
ty ?  Who  can  tell  all  that  was  attempted  to  prevent  such  a  ship- 
wreck— to  arrest  this  sad  catastrophe  ?  The  documents  which 
have  come  down  to  us  on  this  subject  are  very  few ;  and  they 
have  reached  us  only  through  the  medium  of  the  dominant  party. 

Resistance  to  the  encroachments  of  error  of  all  kinds  often 
proceeded  from  the  higher  ranks  of  the  Church,  but  more  fre- 
quently from  the  inferior  orders.  It  was  organized  not  only  in 
the  convocations  of  bishops,  but  also  in  the  common  assemblies 
of  Christians,  in  the  hearts  of  simple  priests  or  humble  laymen. 

Pope  Celestin  I.,  writing  to  the  bishops  of  Vienne  and  Nar- 
bonne,  in  France,  between  A.  D.  423  and  482,  complains  of  men 
having  granted  permission  to  foreign  priests  to  preach  as  they 
pleased,  and  to  agitate  " unlearned  questions"  which  introduced 
dissensions  into  the  Church.*  He  affects  not  to  specify  the  ob- 
ject of  his  complaints ;  yet,  from  the  conclusion  of  his  letter,  we 
learn  that  the  point  in  question  relates  to  the  saints,  and  that  the 
preachers  he  had  in  view  were  not  favourable  to  the  errors  in 

*  The  same  Pope,  in  a  second  letter  to  the  same  prelates,  again  denounces 
other  priests  who  have  not  been  brought  up  in  the  Church,  who  came  from  some 
remote  country  with  foreign  manners,  who  understand  the  Scriptures  according 
to  the  letter,  who  preach  novel  doctrines,  and  refuse  penance  (no  doubt  abso- 
lution) to  the  dying.    (Delectus  Actorum  Ecclesice  universalis,  t.i.,  pp.  181, 182.) 


OPPOSITION  IS  MANIFESTED.  23 

rogue  on  that  head.  "  Yet,"  said  he,  "  we  ought  not  to  be  as- 
tonished if  they  attempt  such  things  toward  the  living,  who  en- 
deavour to  destroy  the  memory  of  our  brethren  who  are  now  at 
rest"  From  this  language  we  may  infer  that  the  Gallic  churches 
were  not  then  favourable  to  images  and  the  invocation  of  saints, 
and  that  a  considerable  number  of  priests  courageously  withstood 
the  entrance  of  this  false  doctrine. — Delectus  Actorum,  etc.,  t.  i., 
pp.  177,  178. 

About  the  same  time,  toward  the  end  of  the  fourth  century, 
another  fact,  while  it  confirms  what  we  have  stated  respecting 
the  Gallic  Churches,  shows  also  that  in  Lombardy  there  were 
believers  who  opposed  the  use  of  images,  and  other  novelties. 
Vigilantius,  a  well-informed  man,  though  Jerome  asserts  the  con- 
trary, a  native  of  Comminge,  in  Aquitaine,  had  exercised  the 
functions  of  a  priest  at  Barcelona  or  its  neighbourhood.  During 
his  travels  in  the  East,  he  fell  in  with  Jerome.  This  celebrated 
recluse  in  vain  attempted  to  convince  Vigilantius,  and  to  bring 
him  over  to  his  opinions  respecting  relics,  saints,  images,  and 
prayers  addressed  to  them,  tapers  that  were  kept  burning  at  the 
tombs,  pilgrimages,  fasts,  the  celibacy  of  priests,  a  solitary  life,  etc. 
Vigilantius  remained  immovable.  On  his  return,  this  opponent 
of  the  new  doctrines  appears  to  have  fixed  himself  in  Lombardy, 
where  he  found  a  refuge,  probably  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Cottian 
Alps.*  Jerome  himself  gives  us  this  information  in  one  of  his 
epistles  to  Riparius :  "  I  saw,  a  short  time  ago,"  he  says,  "  that 
monster  Vigilantius.  I  would  fain  have  bound  this  madman  by 
passages  of  holy  writ,  as  Hippocrates  advises  to  confine  maniacs 
with  bonds ;  but  he  has  departed — he  has  withdrawn — he  has 
hurried  away — he  has  escaped ;  and  from  the  space  between  the 
Alps,  where  Cottus  reigned,  and  the  waves  of  the  Adriatic,  his 
cries  have  reached  me.  O  infamous !  he  has  found,  even  among 
the  bishops,  accomplices  of  his  wickedness." — Hieronymus  ad  Ri- 
parium,  contra  Vigilantium,  t.  ii.,  p.  158,  etc. 

We  see  by  this  passage,  that  the  bishops  of  Lombardy  approved 
of  Vigilantius,  and  joined  him  in  opposing  the  above-mentioned 
errors.  In  Lombardy  it  would  appear  that  many  churches  had, 
more  or  less,  preserved  sound  doctrine. 

The  long  and  persevering  resistance  of  one  part  of  the  Church 

*  The  Cottian  Alps  are  to  the  north  of  Mount  Viso,  and  among  these  the  Vau- 
dois  valleys  are  situated. 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

to  the  encroachments  of  the  errors  of  the  Romish  Church,  is  un- 
questionable ;  for,  at  the  close  of  the  sixth  century,  we  find  that 
Serenus,  bishop  of  Marseilles,  had  succeeded  in  banishing  images 
from  his  diocese.  We  learn  this  fact  from  a  letter  of  Pope  Gre- 
gory the  Great,  who  was  pope  from  A.  D.  590  to  604 :  "  We 
have  been  apprized,"  he  says,  "  that,  animated  by  an  inconsiderate 
zeal,  you  have  broken  in  pieces  the  images  of  the  saints,  on  the 
plea  that  they  ought  not  to  be  adored.  In  truth,  we  should  have 
entirely  approved  of  your  conduct,  had  you  forbidden  their  being 
adored ;  but  we  blame  you  for  having  broken  them  in  pieces. 
.  .  .  For  it  is  one  thing  to  adore  a  painting,  and  another  to 
learn  by  its  history  the  proper  object  of  adoration." — Delectus 
Actorum,  etc.,  t.  i.,  p.  443. 

This  letter  shows,  not  only  that  the  worship  of  images,  and  con- 
sequently several  other  deviations  from  sound  doctrine,  had  not 
yet  entirely  pervaded  the  Church,  but  that  the  pious  popes 
hesitated  to  recommend  them  under  their  most  censurable 
form. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  the  struggle  of  the 
faithful  against  these  errors  still  continued.  We  see  it  carried 
on  between  the  French  prelates  and  Boniface,  the  apostle  of 
Germany.  Claude  Clement,  Sidonius,  Virgilius,  Samson,  and 
Aldebert  at  their  head,  reproached  Boniface  with  propagating 
the  following  errors : — the  celibacy  of  the  priests ;  the  worship 
of  relics ;  the  adoration  of  images ;  the  supremacy  of  the  popes ; 
masses  for  the  dead ;  purgatory,  etc.  For  this  reason,  Roman 
Catholic  authors  accuse  them  of  heresy,  and  reproach  Aldebert 
especially,  for  condemning  as  useless  the  imposition  of  hands, 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  other  ceremonies  already  adopted  at 
baptism. 

The  tenth  epistle  of  Pope  Zachary  to  Boniface  is  so  explicit 
on  the  existence,  in  the  Church,  of  a  strong  opposition  to  the  en- 
croachments of  the  Romish  ritual,  and  of  a  different  and  more 
evangelical  worship,  that  we  cannot  forbear  citing  it : — "  As  for 
the  priests,"  he  says,  "  whom  your  fraternity  report  to  have  found 
(ivho  are  more  numerous  than  the  Catholics)  wandering  about, 
disguised  under  the  name  of  bishops  or  priests,  not  ordained  by 
Catholic  bishops,  who  deceive  the  people,  perplex  and  trouble 
the  ministers  of  the  Church,  they  are  false  vagabonds,  adulterers, 
murderers,  effeminate,  sacrilegious  hypocrites,  the  greater  part 


NOTICE  OF  CLAUDE.  25 

tonsured  slaves  who  have  fled  from  their  masters,  servants  of  the 
devil  transformed  into  ministers  of  Christ,  who  live  as  they  list, 
being  without  bishops,  having  partisans  to  defend  them  against 
the  bishops,  that  they  may  not  attack  their  irregular  lives, 
who  meet  in  separate  assemblies,  with  persons  that  abet  their 
proceedings,  and  exercise  their  erroneous  ministry  not  in  a 
Catholic  Church,  but  in  strange  places,  in  the  cellars  of 
country-people,  where  their  stupid  folly  may  be  concealed 
from  the  bishops." — Sacro-sancta  Concilia,  studio  Ph.  Labbei, 
t.  v.,  col.  1519. 

We  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  clear  the  priests  who  are  here 
spoken  of  from  the  charges  of  adultery  and  murder,  sacrilege  and 
hypocrisy.  Every  one  knows  that  the  writers  of  the  Romish 
Church  have  never  spared  injurious  epithets  and  calumnies  when 
their  adversaries  were  concerned.  It  is  enough  that  we  have 
ascertained,  by  the  letter  even  of  a  pope,  the  existence,  in  the 
eighth  century,  of  priests  and  Christians  united  in  religious  as- 
semblies who  were  not  in  subjection  to  the  see  of  Rome. 

Nor  must  we  omit  to  notice  the  vigorous  opposition  that  was 
made  in  the  dominions  of  Charlemagne  to  the  decisions  of  the 
second  council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  787,  in  favour  of  the  worship  of 
images.  These  decisions,  and  others  also  on  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
were  rejected  by  the  council  of  Frankfort,  A.  D.  794,  in  spite  of 
the  representations  of  the  pope's  legates.  The  prelates  of  the 
second  council  of  Nice  having  anathematized  those  who  refused 
to  worship  images,  Charlemagne  observed,  that,  "  in  so  doing, 
they  had  anathematized  and  branded  as  heretics  their  own  fa- 
thers, and  as  they  had  been  consecrated  by  them,  their  consecra- 
tion was  null,  and  therefore  they  were  not  themselves  true 
priests." — Dupin,  Nouvelle  Biblioth.,  etc.,  t.  v.,  p.  148. 

One  of  the  most  striking  facts  to  illustrate  the  resistance  made 
by  the  faithful  Church  to  the  introduction  of  those  errors  of 
which  Rome  was  the  centre,  is  the  episcopate  of  Claude  of 
Turin.  It  is  a  beacon  which  illumines  the  night  of  those  remote 
times,  and  reflects  afar  its  brilliant  and  beautiful  light.  By  its 
brightness  we  discern  in  the  distance  the  Vaudois  valleys,  where 
the  sacred  flame  of  the  gospel,  which  Claude  had  revived  and 
maintained,  continued  to  purify  the  heart,  when  the  humid 
mists  of  the  Roman  heresy  had  extinguished  it  in  the  open 
country. 

2 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Claude,*  at  first  chaplain  of  Louis  le  Debonnaire,  while 
Charlemagne  was  still  living,  was  nominated  by  Louis  to  the 
bishopric  of  Turin,  about  the  year  822,  under  the  pontificate  of 
Pascal  I.,  who  died  May  13,  824,  and  administered  in  that  dio- 
cese till  839,  the  time  of  his  death,  as  it  is  believed.  An  elo- 
quent preacher,  and  profoundly  conversant  with  the  Scriptures, 
he  exercised  an  active  and  successful  ministry  for  seventeen 
years ;  and,  what  forms  a  most  prominent  feature  in  his  labours, 
he  banished  all  images  from  the  basilics,  [churches.]  Being 
censured  by  the  abetters  of  a  worship  unknown  to  the  primitive 
Church,  he  wrote  several  books  to  refute  his  foreign  opponents. 
These  writings  are  lost,  with  the  exception  of  the  fragments 
which  have  been  preserved  by  his  opponent,  Jonas  d' Orleans. 
Although  incomplete,  and  perhaps  mutilated,  they  form  a  splendid 
testimony  of  the  doctrine  that  was  preached  for  seventeen  years 
in  the  same  countries  where  we  find  it,  at  a  later  period,  pro- 
fessed by  the  Vaudois.  The  passages  we  are  about  to  cite  will 
prove  that  Jonas  d'Orleans  did  not  make  too  great  a  concession 
when  he  allowed  that  Claude  had  some  knowledge  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

The  work  of  Claude  of  Turin  which  Jonas  d' Orleans,  as  well 
as  Dungal,  has  thus  preserved  for  us,  is  entitled,  "  Apologetic 
Reply  of  Claude,  Bishop,  to  the  Abbot  Theodemir." 

"I  have  received,"  he  says,  "by  a  country  carrier,  (porti- 
torem,)  your  epistle,  full  of  prate  and  nonsense,  in  which  you 
declare  that  you  have  been  troubled,  because  a  report  has  been 
spread  to  my  discredit  from  Italy  through  all  Gaul,  and  even  as 
far  as  Spain,  that  I  preach  in  order  to  form  a  new  sect,  con- 
trary to  the  rule  of  the  Catholic  faith,  which  is  totally  false ; 
but  it  is  not  strange  if  the  members  of  Satan  speak  of  me  in 
this  manner,  since  they  called  our  Lord  a  seducer  and  demoniac. 
For  I,  who  remain  in  the  unity,  (of  the  Church,)  and  proclaim 
the  truth,  aim  at  forming  no  new  sect ;  but,  as  far  as  lies  in  my 
power,  I  repress  sects,  schisms,  superstitions,  and  heresies;  I 
have  combated,  overthrown,  and  crushed  them,  and,  by  God's 
assistance,  I  shall  not  cease  to  do  so  to  the  utmost.  And  since, 
contrary  to  my  wishes,  I  have  been  charged  with  the  burden  of 

*  Some  account  of  Claude  may  be  found  in  Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xvi, 
p.  139,  &c.  lie  was  a  Spaniard  and  not  a  Scotchman,  as  was  Claude  Clement, 
mentioned  above,  [p.  24.] 


PASSAGES  FKOM  THE  WRITINGS  OF  CLAUDE.         27 

a  bishopric,  and  sent  by  the  pious  Louis,  a  son  of  God's  holy 
Church,  and  have  arrived  in  Italy,  I  have  found  at  Turin  all 
the  basilics  filled  with  execrable  impurities  and  images,  con- 
trary to  the  commands  of  the  truth  (of  the  gospel ;)  and  as  I 
alone  have  overturned  all  these  things  that  others  adore,  it  is 
against  me  alone  that  they  are  embittered.  For  this  they  have 
all  opened  their  mouths  to  calumniate  me  ;  and  if  the  Lord  had 
not  been  on  my  side  they  would  probably  have  devoured  me 
alive.  The  prohibition  so  clearly  expressed,  Thou  shalt  not 
make  unto  thee  the  likeness  of  anything  that  is  in  heaven  above, 
or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  &c,  applies  not  only  to  the  like- 
nesses of  strange  gods,  but  also  to  those  of  celestial  beings,  and 
whatever  the  human  mind  can  invent  in  honour  of  the  Creator. 

"  We  do  not  pretend,  say  those  against  whom  we  defend  the 
Church,  that  the  image  we  adore  has  anything  divine ;  but  we 
adore  it  with  the  respect  due  to  that  which  it  represents.  To 
this  we  reply :  if  the  images  of  the  saints  are  adored  with  a 
diabolical  Avorship,  my  adversaries  have  not  abandoned  idols, 
but  only  changed  their  names.  If,  then,  you  draw  or  paint 
upon  the  walls  the  images  of  Peter,  Paul,  Jupiter,  Saturn,  or 
Mercury,  these  are  neither  gods  nor  apostles,  neither  one  nor 
the  other  are  men ;  the  name  is  changed ;  but  the  error  re- 
mains and  continues  always  the  same,  inasmuch  as  they  have 
an  image  of  God  deprived  of  life  and  reason,  instead  of  images 
and  animals,  or,  which  is  nearer  the  truth,  instead  of  wood  and 
of  stone. 

"  We  ought,  then,  carefully  to  bear  this  in  mind,  that  all  those 
who  pay  Divine  honours,  not  only  to  visible  images,  but  to  any 
creature,  whether  celestial  or  terrestrial,  spiritual  or  corporeal, 
and  who  expect  from  it  the  salvation  which  comes  from  God 
alone,  are  of  that  class  whom  the  apostle  describes  as  serving 
the  creature  more  than  the  Creator. 

"  Why  do  you  humble  and  bow  yourself  before  vain  images  ? 
Why  bend  your  body  before  idols  that  are  without  sense,  ter- 
restrial, and  base  ?  God  has  created  you  upright ;  and  while 
the  animals  are  prone  towards  the  earth,  he  would  have  you 
raise  your  eyes  to  heaven,  and  fix  your  regards  on  the  Lord. 
Thither  you  must  look  ;  thither  you  must  lift  up  your  eyes.  It 
is  on  high  that  we  must  seek  after  God,  that  we  may  learn  to 
wean  ourselves  from  earth.     Raise,  then,  your  heart  to  heaven. 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Why  prostrate  yourself  in  the  dust  of  death  with  the  insensible 
image  that  you  serve  ?  Why  deliver  yourself  to  the  devil  for 
it,  and  with  it  ?  Keep  the  elevation  in  which  you  were  born ; 
maintain  yourself  such  as  God  made  you.    - 

"  But  let  us  hear  what  the  miserable  followers  of  false  religion 
and  superstition  say.  It  is  in  memory  of  our  Saviour  that  we 
serve,  honour,  and  adore  the  cross  either  painted  or  erected  to 
his  honour.  Nothing,  then,  pleases  them  in  our  Saviour  but 
that  which  pleased  the  impious,  the  opprobrium  of  his  suffer- 
ings, and  the  ignominy  of  his  death.  They  believe  respecting 
him  what  the  wicked  believe,  both  Jews  and  Pagans,  who  reject 
his  resurrection,  and  only  regard  him  as  tortured,  and  who,  in 
their  heart,  always  think  of  him  in  the  agony  of  his  suffering, 
without  thinking  of  what  the  apostle  said,  and  without  under- 
standing that  expression,  '  Though  we  have  known  Christ  after 
the  flesh,  yet  now  henceforth  know  we  him  no  more,'  after  that 
manner. 

"  Such  persons  must  be  told,  that  if  they  are  disposed  to  adore 
every  piece  of  wood  that  is  cut  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  because 
Christ  was  hung  on  the  cross,  that  there  are  many  other  things 
that  had  a  connexion  with  Christ  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  which 
are  fitter  objects  of  adoration. 

"  In  fact,  he  remained  scarcely  six  hours  suspended  on  the 
cross,  while  he  passed  nine  months  in  the  virgin's  womb ;  let  us, 
then,  adore  virgins,  because  a  virgin  gave  birth  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Let  us  adore  mangers,  because  soon  after  his  birth  he  was  laid 
in  a  manger ;  let  us  adore  old  swaddling-clothes,  because  he  was 
wrapped  in  such.  Let  us  adore  ships,  because  he  often  sailed 
in  a  ship ;  he  taught  multitudes  out  of  a  ship ;  he  slept  in  a 
ship ;  and  was  in  a  ship  when  he  ordered  his  disciples  to  cast 
out  the  net  in  which  the  miraculous  draught  of  fishes  was  caught. 
Let  us  adore  asses,  because  he  entered  Jerusalem  mounted  on 
an  ass.  Let  us  adore  lambs,  because  it  is  written  of  him,  '  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.' 
But  these  abetters  of  unsound  doctrine  prefer  eating  the  living 
lambs,  and  adore  those  painted  upon  walls.  Let  us  adore  lions, 
for  it  is  written  of  him, '  The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,  the  Root 
of  David,  hath  prevailed.'  Let  us  adore  rocks,  since,  after  being 
taken  down  from  the  cross,  he  was  placed  in  a  sepulchre  hewn 
out  of  a  rock ;  and  the  apostle  says  of  him,  •  That  rock  was 


PASSAGES  FROM  THE  WRITINGS  OF  CLAUDE.         29 

Christ.'  But  Christ  is  called  a  rock,  a  lamb,  a  lion,  figuratively, 
and  not  in  a  literal  sense.  Let  us  adore  the  thorns  of  the 
bramble,  because  a  crown  of  thorns  was  placed  on  his  head 
during  his  passion.  Let  us  adore  reeds,  because  they  furnished 
the  soldiers  with  an  instrument  for  striking  him.  Lastly,  let  us 
adore  spears,  because  one  of  the  soldiers  pierced  his  side  with  a 
spear,  and  out  of  it  there  came  blood  and  water. 

"  All  this  is  ridiculous ;  and  we  would  much  rather  lament  it 
than  write  it.  But  we  are  obliged  to  answer  fools  according  to 
their  folly,  and  to  hurl  against  hearts  of  stone,  not  the  darts  or 
maxims  of  the  word,  but  missiles  of  stone. 

"  God  commands  one  thing,  and  these  people  do  another. 
God  commands  to  bear  the  cross,  not  to  adore  it.  These  per- 
sons would  adore  it,  while  they  bear  it  neither  corporeally  nor 
spiritually.  To  serve  God  in  this  manner  is  to  forsake  him. 
He  has  said  himself,  '  Whosoever  will  come  after  me,  let  him 
deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me  ;'  doubtless 
because  he  who  does  not  renounce  himself,  does  not  approach  to 
Him  who  is  above  him,  and  he  cannot  seize  that  which  passes 
by  him,  if  he  has  not  learned  in  good  time  to  distinguish  it. 

"  But  as  to  your  saying,  that  I  prevent  men  from  going  on 
pilgrimage  to  Rome,  in  order  to  do  penance  there,  you  accuse 
me  falsely.  For  I  do  not  approve  [nor  disapprove*]  of  that 
journey,  because  I  know  that  it  does  not  injure  all,  nor  profit 
all.  I  wish,  in  the  first  place,  that  you  would  ask  yourself,  if 
you  acknowledge  that  to  go  to  Rome  is  doing  penance,  why,  for 
so  long  a  time,  have  you  damned  so  many  souls  whom  you  have 
kept  in  your  monastery,  and  have  even  received  to  do  penance 
there,  obliging  them  to  serve  you,  instead  of  sending  them  to 
Rome  ?  You  say,  in  fact,  that  you  have  a  hundred  and  forty 
monks,  that  have  all  come  to  you  to  do  penance,  who  have  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  monastery,  and  not  one  of  whom  have 
you  allowed  to  go  to  Rome.  If  it  be  so,  that  men  must  go  to 
Rome  to  do  penance,  and  yet  you  have  prevented  them,  what 
will  you  say  to  this  declaration  of  the  Lord,  '  Whoso  shall  offend 
one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me,  it  were  better  for 
him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that  he 
were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea?'     There  can  be  no 

*  [Nee  approbo,  nee  improbo.— Gieseler,  vol.  ii,  $  1,  p.  102,  4th  ed. ;  Band  ii, 
Abtheilung  i.] 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

greater  offence  than  to  hinder  a  man  from  following  a  road  that 
may  conduct  him  to  eternal  happiness. 

"  We  well  know  that  this  sentence  of  the  Gospel  is  very  ill 
understood :  '  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  Church ;  .  .  .  and  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.'  On  account  of  these  words  of  the  Lord, 
an  ignorant  multitude,  neglecting  all  spiritual  understanding, 
persist  in  betaking  themselves  to  Rome,  in  order  to  obtain  eternal 
life.  He  who  properly  understands  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  does  not  seek  for  the  local  intercession  of  St.  Peter. 
In  fact,  if  we  examine  the  force  of  our  Lord's  words,  he  did  not 
say  to  St.  Peter  alone,  '  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth 
shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on 
earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.'  In  truth,  this  ministry  belongs 
to  all  the  true  inspectors  and  pastors  of  the  Church,  who  exer- 
cise it  as  long  as  they  are  in  this  world ;  and  when  they  have 
paid  the  debt  of  death,  others  succeed  in  their  place,  and  enjoy 
the  same  authority  and  power.  You  may  add  the  example  of 
David :  '  Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children,  whom  thou 
mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth.' 

"  The  fifth  thing  with  which  you  reproach  me  is,  that  you  are 
displeased  because  his  apostolic  lordship  (dominus  apostolicus) 
was  exasperated  against  me,  (thus  you  speak  of  the  deceased 
bishop  of  Rome,  Pascal,)  and  that  he  had  honoured  me  with  my 
appointment.  But  since  the  term  apostolic  in  some  degree 
means  the  guardian  of  an  apostle,  he  certainly  is  not  to  be 
called  apostolic  who  merely  occupies  the  apostle's  seat,  but  he  who 
fulfils  the  functions  of  the  apostle.  As  for  those  who  occupy  that 
seat  without  fulfilling  its  duties,  the  Lord  has  said,  '  The  scribes 
and  the  Pharisees  sit  in  Moses'  seat:  all  therefore  whatsoever 
they  bid  you  observe,  that  observe  and  do ;  but  do  not  ye  af- 
ter their  works ;  for  they  say,  and  do  not.' "  Matt,  xxiii,  2,  3. 
— Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xvi,  col.  139-169,  &c. 

This  letter,  if  read  attentively,  clearly  shows  the  Christian 
and  eminently  evangelical  character  of  Claude.  We  here  see 
that  the  source  whence  he  derived  his  courage  and  fidelity  was 
the  word  of  God ;  and  we  may  conclude,  from  the  continual  use 
made  of  the  Scriptures  in  his  writings,  that  he  preached*  and 

*  In  doing  so,  he  conformed  to  the  decision  of  the  council  of  Frankfort,  A.  D. 
794,  as  any  one  may  be  convinced  by  a  reference  to  its  acts. 


CHARACTER  OF  CLAUDE'S  MINISTRY.  31 

circulated  them  in  his  diocese ;  that  he  must  have  given  a  fresh 
impulse  to  the  study  of  holy  writ,  prompted  the  ministers  of  re- 
ligion to  teach  nothing  but  what  it  contained,  and  conducted  the 
sheep  that  were  intrusted  to  his  care  to  the  one  heavenly  Shep- 
herd, who  could  feed  them,  and  save  them  forever. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  immense  influence  which  such  a  man 
must  have  exerted  during  an  episcopate  of  seventeen  years.  And 
even  if  persons  could  succeed  in  proving,  which  is  not  possible, 
that  his  work  was  isolated,  without  antecedent  preparatory  cir- 
cumstances, and  without  any  remarkable  ulterior  consequences  ; 
— if  it  could  be  shown  that  the  bishops  who  followed  him  all  la- 
boured to  destroy  it,  it  would  not  be  less  certain  that  it  once  ex- 
isted ;  and  the  possibility,  or  rather  the  probability,  will  remain, 
that  it  was  perpetuated  after  him  in  many  hearts,  in  some  parts, 
at  least,  of  his  vast  diocese ;  in  the  valleys  of  the  Vaudois  Alps, 
for  example,  which  were  less  exposed  than  the  open  country  to 
the  sudden  irruption  of  the  papal  authority. 

But  this  extravagant  supposition  of  a  ministration  of  an  unu- 
sual character,  is  untrue  and  untenable.  Claude  was  no  inno- 
vator. His  work  was  not  isolated.  All  the  accounts  we  have 
given  of  the  resistance  of  the  faithful  Church  prove  this.  It  was 
in  the  same,  or  the  neighbouring  countries,  that  Vigilantius  had 
found  a  refuge  among  bishops  who  professed,  like  himself,  a  doc- 
trine opposed  to  the  worship  of  images  and  saints,  to  ceremonies 
at  tombs,  to  pilgrimages,  to  fasts,  to  the  celibacy  of  priests,  and 
to  a  monastic  life.  Let  us  not  forget  that  Serenus,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Alps,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  accom- 
plished a  work  similar  to  that  of  Claude,  in  the  diocese  of  Mar- 
seilles ;  that  in  the  eighth  century  many  French  prelates  opposed 
the  introduction  of  the  same  errors,  and  the  alterations  in  doc- 
trine that  Boniface  preached.  And,  lastly,  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  the  majority  of  the  bishops  in  the  wide  domains  of  Charle- 
magne, of  which  Turin  and  Piedmont  formed  a  part,  resisted  in 
the  council  of  Frankfort  (A.  D.  794)  the  solicitations,  prayers, 
and  orders  of  the  pope's  legates,  and  rejected  the  same  worship 
of  images  which  Claude  banished  from  his  diocese.* 

No ;  the  labours  of  the  pious  bishop  were  not  isolated.     At 

*  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  Agobard,  archbishop  of  Lyon,  shared  entirely  in 
the  views  of  his  contemporary,  Claude,  as  his  writings  assert.  (Vide  Maxima 
Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xvi,  col.  241,  etc.) 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

that  very  time,  the  conflict  against  the  errors  of  Rome  was  vigo- 
rously carried  on  in  different  countries ;  and  if  the  partisans  of 
the  worship  of  images  had  sometimes  the  victory,  as  it  appears 
they  had  under  the  episcopate  of  Claude's  predecessor,  it  was 
soon  disputed,  and  often  reversed.  Father  Pagi  himself,  in  his 
"  Chronological  and  Critical  Abridgment  of  History,"  citing  Dio- 
nysius  of  Padua,  after  having  made  some  rather  curious  acknow- 
ledgments respecting  the  introduction  of  images,*  and  the  pre- 
tended motives  which  justified  it  in  the  eyes  of  Roman  Catholics, 
confesses,  "  that  it  is  by  no  means  proved  that  this  (the  introduc- 
tion of  images)  prevailed  in  all  places,  nor  in  the  same  manner ; 
but  it  was  effected  in  one  place  sooner,  in  another  later,  accord- 
ing to  the  ability  and  disposition  of  the  people,  and  according  as 
those  who  directed  them  judged  it  seasonable ;" — (expedire  judi- 
cabant.) — Breviarium  historico-chronologicum,  etc.  R.  P.  Pagi,  t. 
i,  p.  521-524,  §  22. 

But  the  very  words  of  Claude,  in  his  letter  to  the  abbot  Theo- 
demir,  show  us  most  clearly  that  the  bishop  of  Turin  merely  car- 
ried on  a  work  that  had  been  already  begun :  "  I  do  not  teach 
a  new  sect,"  he  writes ;  "  I,  who  remain  in  the  unity  [of  the 
Church,]  and  proclaim  the  truth.  But,  as  far  as  it  depends  on 
me,  I  have  suppressed  sects,  schisms,  superstitions,  and  heresies ; 
I  have  combated,  crushed,  and  overturned  them ;  and,  by  God's 
help,  I  will  not  cease  to  overturn  them  to  the  utmost  of  my  power." 
Who  does  not  see,  that  in  opposing  the  worship  of  images  within 
his  diocese,  Claude  believed  that  he  remained  in  the  unity  of 
the  Church;  that  he  was  defending  the  truth — the  truth  that 
was  still  known  and  revered  ?  Who  does  not  see,  that  in  reform- 
ing abuses  that  were  already  introduced,  Claude  wished  to  repress 
a  sect,  gaining  ground,  perhaps,  but  still  a  sect,  to  combat  schism, 
— to  arrest  superstition  and  heresy  ? 

The  strong  language  that  Claude  employs  to  designate  the 
partisans  of  image-worship,  and  the  energy  of  his  remonstrances, 
show  us  a  man  who  rather  attacks  his  enemy  than  defends  him- 

*  He  acknowledges  "  that  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity  the  use  of  sacred 
images  was  not  frequent"  (he  ought  to  have  said,  "  was  not  known ;")  he  adds, 
"  that  the  motive  or  reason  for  their  introduction  was  that  they  were  regarded 
as  a  means  of  edification,  and  of  spreading  Christianity ;  that  their  adoption  was 
reasonable  when  the  superstitious  regard  for  idols,  formerly  concealed  in  the 
heart,  was  no  longer  to  be  feared."  Not  a  word  of  the  prohibition  contained  in 
the  word  of  God  against  it. 


CHARACTER  OF  CLAUDE'S  LABOURS.       33 

self;  so  well  guarded  did  he  feel  himself  to  be  from  danger  by 
the  mere  strength  of  his  position.  The  contempt  with  which  he 
speaks  of  the  pretensions  of  Rome,  and  of  the  pope  himself,* 
whom  he  compares  to  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  sitting  in  Moses' 
seat,  is  an  index  not  only  of  his  courage,  but  of  his  power. 

Lastly ;  what  completes  the  demonstration  that  the  labours  of 
Claude  were  not  those  of  an  isolated  innovator,  without  prede- 
cessors in  the  diocese  itself,  or  beyond  it,  is  his  complete  success. 
The  images  were  taken  from  all  the  basilics,  to  the  great  an- 
noyance, it  is  true,  of  those  who  exhibited  them ;  but  without  any 
serious  opposition  being  raised  from  any  quarter.  It  would  even 
appear,  that  as  he  speaks  only  of  their  expulsion  from  the  basi- 
lics, the  worship  of  images  had  not  reached  the  country  places, 
but  only  Turin,  and  perhaps  the  larger  cities  in  the  diocese.  It 
is  obvious,  that  a  work  accomplished  with  scarcely  any  opposition, 
in  a  wide  tract  of  country,  supposes  the  mass  of  the  clergy  and 
the  Church  to  be  in  its  favour ;  and  if  we  recollect  that  Claude 
filled  the  bishopric  for  at  least  fifteen  years,  we  must  be  convinced 
that  his  zeal  and  fidelity,  seconded  by  an  intelligent  and  devoted 
clergy,  by  the  love  of  the  believers  and  the  conscience  of  the 
people,  must  have  given  an  impulse  to  the  cause  of  sound  doc- 
trine and  the  Christian  life,  which  could  not  be  checked  all  at 
once. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  add  to  the  foregoing  the  testi- 
mony of  a  modern  Piedmontese  author : — "  Be  that  as  it  may," 
he  tells  us,  "  this  bishop  of  Turin,  a  man  of  eloquence  and  austere 
manners,  had  a  great  number  of  partisans.  These  persons,  ana- 
thematized by  the  pope,  and  persecuted  by  the  lay  princes, 
were  chased  from  the  open  country,  and  forced  to  take  refuge 
in  the  mountains,  where  they  have  kept  their  ground  from  that 
time,  always  checked,  but  always  endeavouring  to  extend  them- 
selves.— Memoires  Historiques,  par  le  Marquis  Costa  de  Beaure- 
gard,, t.  ii,  p.  50. 

*  It  may  be  inferred  that  the  title  of  Pope  was  not  then  prevalent,  or  Claude 
would  not  have  failed  to  make  some  allusion  to  it. 

2* 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Vestiges  of  the  faithful  church  in  the  tenth  and  ele- 
venth CENTURIES. 

The  episcopate  of  Claude  of  Turin  seems,  at  the  first  glance,  to 
be  the  last  striking  instance  of  the  opposition  of  the  sound  part 
of  the  Christian  Church  to  the  encroachments  of  the  errors  that 
were  propagated  in  the  West.  In  fact,  from  Claude  of  Turin  to 
the  writings  of  the  Vaudois,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  first  half  of 
'the  ninth  century  to  the  commencement  of  the  twelfth,  the  history 
of  the  faithful  Church  offers  but  few  prominent  and  well-ascer- 
tained facts ;  yet  it  is  not  entirely  destitute  of  them.  Intelligent 
study  and  conscientious  investigation  bring  to  light  scattered  facts 
which  at  first  seem  like  traces  half  effaced,  but  in  which  we  soon 
recognize  the  vestiges  of  a  Church  oppressed  but  always  militant. 
These  facts,  impressed  on  the  course  of  the  world,  at  unequal  in- 
tervals, and  often  in  different  places,  converge  towards  a  centre, 
and  lead  us  back  to  countries  in  which  we  shall  shortly  find  an 
evangelical  Church,  exhibiting  a  mature  Christian  life,  according 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles. 

It  is  here  necessary  to  take  a  survey  of  this  epoch. 

The  end  of  the  ninth,  the  whole  of  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
centuries,  were  times  of  incessant  trouble ;  an  epoch  when  a  new 
social  system  was  gradually  rising  on  the  ruins  of  the  old,  which 
had  been  overturned  by  a  succession  of  calamities.  The  inva- 
sions of  the  Goths,  Franks,  Lombards,  and  all  the  ferocious  hordes 
of  the  north,  designated  by  the  general  name  of  barbarians,  had 
been  checked.  The  victorious  sword  of  Charlemagne  had  driven 
them  back  to  the  frontiers.  But  the  efforts  of  this  great  prince 
to  reconstitute  society  on  a  solid  basis,  had  only  a  momentary 
success.  On  his  decease,  interminable  Avars  began  afresh,  under 
his  sons  and  their  successors,  between  the  old  and  new  population 
of  his  vast  empire.  The  maritime  invasions  of  the  Normans  and 
the  Saracens  aggravated  the  general  confusion.  The  elements 
of  ancient  civilization,  though  feeble  and  exhausted,  still  com- 
bated against  the  vigorous  elements  of  the  turbulent  and  savage 
life  of  the  barbarians. 

From  this  chaos  a  new  social  system  arose,  or  rather  society 


THE  CLERGY.  35 

reconstructed  itself  in  a  new  form,  the  feudal  system.  On  all 
sides,  society,  after  being  shattered  in  pieces,  was  forming 
itself  anew  in  a  multitude  of  small,  obscure,  isolated,  rival  socie- 
ties, obeying  their  chiefs,  the  lords  of  the  soil,  who  were  linked 
to  one  another  by  the  complicated  relations   of  suzerain  and 


In  the  conflict  of  aims  which  marked  these  times,  the  clergy 
were  not  forgetful  of  their  temporal  interests.  The  bishops  and 
abbots  also  sought  to  emancipate  themselves  from  the  civil  power. 
They  desired  to  combine  with  their  spiritual  authority  the  civil 
jurisdiction  over  the  cities  and  rural  districts  of  their  dioceses 
and  parishes.  In  a  word,  they  claimed  the  power,  the  rank,  and 
the  honours  of  lords,  counts,  and  princes  of  the  empire ;  and  they 
gained  their  object. 

But  it  will  be  easily  comprehended  that  such  ambitious  projects 
impelled  the  clergy  to  a  life  of  worldly  agitation,  military  enter- 
prises, intrigues,  and  passions,  which  diverted  their  attention  from 
the  duties  of  piety,  and  of  meditation  on  the  truths  of  religion. 
The  superior  clergy  aspired  only  to  power,  riches,  and  pleasure. 
All  their  thoughts  were  bent  on  their  proud  pretensions,  on  luxury 
and  worldliness.  The  inferior  clergy,  in  their  turn,  became  lax, 
and  did  not  always  preserve  even  a  decent  exterior.  They  were 
sunk,  moreover,  in  the  grossest  ignorance.  The  monks,  especially, 
became  the  instruments  of  knavery,  and  the  encouragers  of  de- 
bauchery. The  light  of  the  gospel  was  hid  under  a  bushel.  Re- 
ligion, already  deteriorated  by  the  controversy  respecting  images 
and  the  worsliip  of  saints,  became  continually  more  obscure,  and 
was  at  last  reduced  to  gross  superstition.  In  the  tenth  century 
these  evils  were  at  their  height,  so  that  it  has  justly  been  styled 
the  iron  age. 

During  the  whole  of  this  period  Rome  was  a  prey  to  anarchy ; 
division  paralyzed  its  force  and  activity.  History  shows  us  that 
the  parties  which  existed  in  that  city  contended  for  the  papal 
throne.  The  popes  who  were  chosen  spent  their  lives  in  defend- 
ing their  nomination,  in  combating  their  antagonists,  and  in 
strengthening  their  own  party.  But,  taking  advantage  of  some 
favourable  juncture,  the  vanquished  party  regained  the  ascen- 
dency, chose  a  new  pope,  and  deposed  the  old  one,  who  often 
was  imprisoned  and  put  to  death.  The  majority  of  the  popes 
in  these  times  were  undeserving  of  any  respect:  some  were  ab- 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

solute  monsters.  Scandalous  proceedings  of  the  same  kind  dis- 
turbed most  of  the  dioceses. 

The  eleventh  century  resembled  the  preceding  in  its  general 
features.  The  same  spirit  of  insubordination  and  corruption, 
of  ambition,  voluptuousness,  and  luxury  in  the  superior  clergy, 
prevailed  j*  the  same  relaxation  of  manners,  the  same  grossness 
in  the  inferior  clergy  and  the  convents ;  among  all  classes  an  ig- 
norance almost  beyond  belief. 

Nevertheless,  some  laudable  efforts  were  made.  Schools  be- 
gan to  flourish  about  the  year  1050  in  Italy.  Literature  reap- 
peared in  France,  after  the  example  of  Spain.  The  tendency 
of  Rome,  in  this  age,  was  to  regain  the  ground  it  had  lost  in  the 
preceding,  and  to  bring  under  the  papal  authority  not  only  the 
ecclesiastical  power,  the  bishops  and  abbots,  and  even  councils, 
but  the  political  power  likewise,  kings  and  emperors.  It  is  not 
our  present  business  to  trace  the  history  of  those  encroachments 
which  began  to  be  made,  in  the  ninth  century,  upon  the  Carlo- 
vingian  race,  and  were  carried  to  the  greatest  lengths  in  the  ele- 
venth century,  by  Hildebrand,  against  the  unfortunate  Henry 
IV.,  emperor  of  Germany :  it  is  sufficient  to  state,  that  during  the 
eleventh  century,  as  was  the  case  during  the  preceding  and  the 
end  of  the  ninth,  the  attention  of  the  heads  of  the  Romish  Church 
was  diverted  from  the  scattered  remnants  of  the  faithful  Church, 
preoccupied  as  they  were  with  their  own  temporal  interests,  and 
the  dangers  and  advantages  of  their  position,  while  the  whole 
social  system  was  dissolving,  and  about  to  be  settled  on  a  new 


It  will  not  be  thought  strange,  that  during  this  unhappy  season 
of  trouble  and  conflict,  both  political  and  ecclesiastical,  when 
scarcely  an  individual  in  the  Latin  Church  engaged  in  the  con- 
scientious search  after  evangelical  truth,  the  documents  essential 
for  a  history  of  the  straggle  of  the  faithful  Church  should  be  few 
and  of  very  little  service  ;  the  struggle  itself  having  everywhere 
ceased,  and  the  truth,  where  it  still  existed,  no  longer  being 
noticed  or  attacked,  on  account  of  the  general  preoccupation  of 
men's  minds  with  worldly  interests. 

Having  made  these  preliminary  remarks,  we  proceed  to  ex- 
amine the  small  number  of  documents  known  to  us,  which  serve 

*  It  was  about  this  time  that  councils  had  to  fix  the  number  of  horses  to  be 
used  by  prelates  on  their  journeys. 


HATTO  DI  VERCBLLI.  37 

as  distant  landmarks  to  point  out  the  Vaudois  of  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont,  as  successors  and  continuators  of  the  primitive  and 
faithful  Church. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  all  that  has  been  said  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter.  We  have  seen  that  in  the  diocese  of  Turin,  in 
A.  D.  839,  the  year  of  the  decease  of  its  worthy  bishop,  the  gos- 
pel was  preached  and  professed  in  its  purity,  and  with  fidelity. 

The  existence  of  a  number  (greater  or  less)  of  Christians, 
separated  from  Rome,  in  the  north  of  Italy,  is  clearly  ascertained 
by  the  epistles  of  Hatto,  who,  in  the  year  945,  held  the  diocese 
of  Vercelli,  situated  between  Turin  and  Milan.  The  letters  of 
this  bishop  have  been  preserved.  In  some  of  them,  he  speaks 
of  persons  who  had  left  the  Church,  and  describes  them  as  being 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  own  diocese.  The  doctrinal  and 
other  points  which  he  specifies  as  separating  them  from  the 
Church  of  which  he  was  a  bishop,  appear  to  be  those  which  were 
held  by  the  Yaudois. 

These  coincidences  of  place  and  doctrine  are  of  great  interest : 
they  draw  our  attention  to  those  districts  where  Claude  of  Turin 
laboured  as  a  faithful  shepherd  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  confirm  the 
fact  that  the  little  lamp  of  truth,  once  lighted  in  these  parts,  was 
never  extinguished. 

The  very  words  of  Hatto  sufficiently  indicate,  that  the  evil  of 
which  he  complains  was  considerable,  for  he  was  sensible  of  it 
within  his  own  diocese.  Listen  to  one  of  his  complaints :  "  Hatto 
to  all  the  faithful  of  our  diocese.  Alas !  there  are  many  among 
you  who  turn  our  sacred  worship  into  ridicule !  Alas !  that  these 
miserable  offenders  have  separated  themselves  from  our  holy 
mother  Church  and  the  clergy,  by  whose  means  alone  you  can 
attain  salvation." — Dacherii  Spicilegiunij  t.  viii,  p.  110,  as  quoted 
by  Dr.  Gilly. 

This  quotation  proves, — 1.  That  these  "miserable  offenders," 
as  the  bishop  of  Vercelli  was  pleased  to  call  the  remains  of  the 
faithful  Church,  were  separated  from  the  holy  mother  Church, 
and  the  clergy  of  that  Church ;  that  consequently  their  existence 
out  of  that  Church  was  an  absolute  fact,  of  which  we  must  take 
note :  2.  That  the  effects  of  this  existence  of  a  Christian  Church, 
separate  from  the  pretended  holy  mother  Church,  had  been  felt 
even  within  the  diocese  of  Vercelli ;  and  that  the  worship  of 
saints,  which  had  already  been  in  much  repute,  as  well  as  other 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

vanities  and  errors,  had  received  a  check  from  that  quarter ; 
which  shows  that  the  light  which  shone  in  the  darkness  was  not 
so  very  faint. 

A  passage  from  an  author  of  the  eleventh  century  may  be  con- 
sidered as  referring  to  the  same  subject.  Pietro  Damiano,  wri- 
ting in  A.  D.  1050,  to  Adelaide,  countess  of  Savoy  (of  Susa  pro- 
perly) and  duchess  of  the  Subalpines,  (Piedmontese,)  complains 
that  the  clergy  in  the  domains  of  this  princess  did  not  observe 
the  ordinances  of  the  Church. — Opera  Damiani,  p.  566  ;  Gilly's 
Researches,  p.  88 ;  Memoires  Hist,  par  le  Marquis  Costa  de  Beau- 
regard, I.,  p.  iii. 

The  chronicle  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Thron,  in  Belgium, 
written  by  the  abbot  Radulph,  or  Rodolph,  between  A.  D.  1108 
and  1136,  contains  a  most  important  article.  The  chronicler, 
speaking  of  a  country  which  he  was  anxious  to  visit  when  he 
should  cross  the  Alps,  on  his  way  to  Rome,  describes  it  as  follows  : 
"  Moreover,  he  heard  that  the  country  to  which  he  had  intended 
to  travel  was  polluted  with  an  inveterate  heresy  respecting  the 
body  and  blood  of  the  Lord." — "  Prceterea  terrain,  ad  quam  ul- 
terius  disposuerat  peregrinari,  audiebat  pollutam  esse  inveteratd 
hmresi  de  corpore  et  sanguine  Domini." — Spicilegium  Dacherii, 
t.  vii,  p.  493 ;  Gilly,  p.  88. 

This  passage  is  important,  as  marking  the  locality  of  the  heresy ; 
it  was  a  country,  (terrain ;)  and  a  country  at  the  passage  of  the 
Alps,  on  the  way  to  Rome.  No  doubt  the  designation  is  vague 
in  one  sense,  but  it  is  very  precise  in  another,*  in  characterizing 
it  as  being  in  the  Alps,  or  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps ;  a  description 
which  perfectly  agrees  with  the  Vaudois  valleys.  But  more  es- 
pecially, this  country  is  represented  as  "  polluted  with  an  invete- 
rate heresy,"  (pollutam  esse  inveteratd  hceresi.)  This  reproach 
demonstrates  that  this  heresy  was  of  ancient  date  in  that  country, 
from  which  it  could  not  be  expelled,  for  it  was  inveterate,  (invete- 
1-ata.)  It  proves  that  the  heresy  in  this  country  was  not  confined 
to  a  few  isolated  individuals,  but  existed  among  the  people  in 
general,  since  the  whole  country  was  polluted  (pollutam)  with  it. 
The  point  on  which  the  passage  is  less  precise,  is  the  doctrine 
which  it  terms  heretical.  It  seems  to  consider  it  as  relating  only 
to  the  Lord's  Supper ;  but  this  would  very  properly  mark  the 

*  That  is,  to  every  one  who  knows  that  it  is  necessary  to  cross  the  Alps  in 
taking  such  a  journey. 


BRUNO  D'ASTI.  39 

Church  of  the  Vaudois,  who,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  rejected 
the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass. 

Another  testimony  worthy  of  attention  is  taken  from  the  wri- 
tings of  a  man  born  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  valleys,  namely, 
Bruno  d'Asti,  bishop  of  Segni,  and  abbot  of  Montcassin,  about 
the  year  1120.  What  he  says  relates  not  only  to  a  disgraceful 
traffic  in  sacred  things — to  simony,  but  to  the  general  corruption 
of  the  Church  in  his  time,  and  especially  to  the  existence  of  the 
active  promoters  of  a  more  Christian  life ;  in  other  words,  the 
existence  of  a  faithful  Church.  We  translate  the  passage :  "  We 
have  said,"  Bruno  remarks,  "  that  from  the  time  of  St.  Leo,  about 
A.  D.  460,  the  Church  was  already  so  corrupted,  that  it  was  dif- 
ficult to  find  an  individual  not  guilty  of  simony,  or  who  had  not 
been  ordained  by  simoniacs ;  also  up  to  the  present  day  we  meet 
with  persons  who,  by  erroneous  reasoning,  and  not  understanding 
the  organization  of  the  Church,  maintain  that  the  priesthood  has 
failed  in  the  Church  since  that  time." — Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P., 
t.  xx,  col.  1 734. 

Bruno  d'Asti  has  not  named  the  Vaudois,  but  he  has  marked 
them  with  sufficient  exactness ;  for  while  he  confounds  the  pope 
Leo  with  another  more  ancient  Leo,  he  quotes  a  claim  formally 
set  forth  in  the  writings  of  the  Vaudois,  and  repeated  in  those  of 
their  opponents ;  and  he  seems  to  allude  to  one  of  their  best-es- 
tablished traditions,  namely,  that  according  to  which  the  Vaudois 
trace  back  their  belief  to  Leo,  an  associate  and  contemporary  of 
Sylvester,  bishop  of  Rome  in  the  time  of  the  emperor  Constan- 
tine,  as  we  shall  see  farther  on. 

These  expressions  of  a  man  who  was  born  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Vaudois  valleys,  which  he  uses  while  attempting  to 
refute  an  opinion  that  still  had  currency  among  them,  conforma- 
bly to  their  tradition,  will  doubtless  carry  great  weight  with  all 
reflecting  persons. 

These  various  facts  forcibly  demonstrate  the  existence,  in  the 
tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  of  a  Church  distinct  from  the  Ro- 
man, in  the  north  of  Italy. 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  RELIGIOUS  MANIFESTATIONS    OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 

We  must  now  adduce  certain  facts  that  occurred  in  the  eleventh 
century,  which  indicate  an  unquestionable  religious  activity  in 
the  propagation  of  sound  evangelical  doctrines.  If,  in  these  re- 
ligious manifestations,  we  find  indications  leading  us  to  suppose 
or  perceive  that  many  of  them  had  their  source  and  origin  in  the 
Alps  which  separate  Italy  from  France,  we  shall  have  a  new 
proof  of  the  continued  existence  of  an  evangelical,  faithful  Church 
in  those  countries.  Certainly,  all  the  facts  adduced  will  not  have 
the  same  force,  or  be  equally  convincing ;  but  when  united,  and 
taken  in  connexion  with  what  has  been  already  said,  they  will 
add  strength  to  the  preceding  proofs. 

It  must  also  be  recollected  that  these  facts  have  come  down  to 
us  only  in  the  writings  of  the  adversaries  of  these  manifestations, 
through  the  medium  of  men  who  have  ill  understood  them — who 
have  often  misrepresented  them,  and  who  have  suppressed  what 
it  was  their  interest  to  conceal,  in  order  to  extenuate  the  crimi- 
nality of  their  own  degenerate  and  persecuting  Church. 

The  following  are  some  of  these  facts : — 

In  the  year  1017,  according  to  some,  or  1022,  according  to 
others,  a  religious  manifestation  attracted  attention.  Persons  dis- 
tinguished by  the  regularity  of  their  lives,  their  knowledge,  and 
their  position  in  society,  were  accused  of  heresy  at  Orleans. 
They  were  fourteen  in  number,  including  a  nun.  The  clergy 
were  strongly  represented,  for  six  of  these  people  were  canons 
of  Sainte-Croix ;  among  whom  the  names  of  three  are  preserved, 
Lisoius,  Heribert,  and  Etienne.  One  of  them  had  been  con- 
fessor to  Queen  Constance.  It  was  stated  that  they  had  held  their 
peculiar  views  for  some  time,  and  that  while  remaining  in  out- 
ward connexion  with  the  Church,  they  celebrated  a  religious  ser- 
vice in  private.  It  was  agreed  on  all  hands,  that  they  had  been 
gained  over  to  heresy  by  a  female  who  came  from  Italy.  Having 
been  tried  by  a  synod  assembled  for  the  purpose,  they  were  con- 
demned to  the  flames,  because  they  would  not  abjure  or  retract 
their  pretended  errors. —  Usserius,  Gravissimce  Qucestionis,  pp. 
279,  280.     Histoire   Generate  du  Languedoc,  t.  ii,  pp.  155,  156. 


HERETICS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY.      41 

Ademar,  a  monk  of  Angouleme,  and  a  contemporary  of  these 
pretended  heretics,  expresses  himself  as  follows : — "  These  emis- 
saries of  Antichrist  were  spread  through  different  parts  of  the 
west,  and  carefully  concealed  themselves,  seducing  as  many  as 
they  were  able,  both  men  and  women." — Fleury,  Histoire  Ec- 
clesiastique,  t.  xiii,  p.  416,  etc. 

In  support  of  these  facts,  Usher  cites  a  passage  from  the  His- 
tory of  Aquitaine,  by  P.  Pitherus,  in  these  words :  "  All  at  once 
the  Manicheans  appeared  in  Aquitaine,  (Gascony,)  seducing  peo- 
ple of  every  class,  and  drawing  them  away  from  truth  into  error 
.  .  .  so  that  they  have  turned  aside  many  simple  persons  from 
the  faith."  After  mentioning  the  heretics  of  Orleans  and  Tou- 
louse, he  repeats  what  we  have  quoted  from  Ademar. — Usserius, 
etc.,  p.  279. 

Nearly  at  the  same  epoch,  A.  D.  1025,  other  sectaries  were 
discovered  at  Arras,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  France,  in 
Flanders.  According  to  Dupin,  a  Catholic  theologian  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  it  was  reported  to  Gerard,  bishop  of  Cam- 
bray  and  Arras,  that  "  some  persons  had  come  from  Italy,  who 
had  introduced  a  new  heresy.  They  said  that  they  were  dis- 
ciples of  Candulph  or  Gandulph,  who  had  instructed  them  in 
the  commandments  of  the  Gospel  and  the  apostles ;  adding,  that 
they  received  no  other  Scriptures,  but  observed  these  exactly." 
A  synod  was  called.  The  accused  parties  were  not  condemned 
to  the  stake,  because  they  abjured  their  new  belief,  and  re- 
turned to  the  bosom  of  the  Church. — Dupin,  Nouvelle  Biblioth., 
t.  TBI,  part  ii,  p.  127. 

Turin,  also,  had  its  heretics;  in  1030,  according  to  the  ac- 
count of  Pierre  de  Vaux-Cernay,  cited  by  M.  Charles  Victor 
Goguet,  in  the  "  Dissertation  on  the  Albigenses,"  which  he  laid 
before  the  faculty  of  theology  at  Strasburg,  in  1840. 

Radulph  Glaber,  a  writer  of  the  eleventh  century,  tells  us 
that  in  the  year  1028  a  sect  found  their  way  into  the  chateau 
of  Monteforte,  in  the  diocese  of  Asti,  in  Piedmont,  who  revived 
Pagan  and  Jewish  rites,  or  rather  those  of  the  Manicheans,  ac- 
cording to  Muratori.  The  bishop  of  Asti,  and  his  brother,  the 
marquis  of  Susa,  in  conjunction  with  other  prelates  or  lords  of 
the  province,  had  made  many  attacks  upon  them  without  suc- 
cess. But  Landolfo  the  elder  states  that  Eribert  or  Aribert, 
archbishop  of  Milan,  happening  to  be  at  Turin,  caused  one  of 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

these  heretics,  named  Gerard,  to  be  apprehended ;  and  having 
learned  from  him  that  he  held  Manichean  doctrines,  sent  troops 
against  the  chateau  and  took  it.  A  few  of  the  heretics  abjured 
their  tenets ;  the  rest  were  burned  alive  in  the  Place  du  D6me. 
— Bossi,  Storia  d' Italia,  t.  xiv,  p.  187,  &c. 

Other  heretics  were  discovered  in  the  diocese  of  Chalons-sur- 
Marne,  about  the  year  1046,  as  we  see  by  a  letter  of  Rogerius 
II.,  bishop  of  Chalons,  to  Wazo,  bishop  of  Liege.  He  accuses 
them  of  following  the  perverse  doctrine  of  the  Manicheans,  and 
of  holding  secret  conventicles.  He  asserts  that  if  rude  and  igno- 
rant men  joined  this  sect  they  very  soon  became  able  to  speak 
better  than  well-educated  Catholics,  so  that  their  unpremedi- 
tated talk  seemed  superior  to  the  true  eloquence  of  philosophers. 
— Recueil  des  Historiens  des  Gaules,  t.  xi,  p.  11,  by  Anselm. 

In  the  Synod  assembled  at  Rhehns,  in  1049,  under  Pope  Leo 
IX.,  the  new  heretics  who  had  made  their  appearance  in  Gaul 
were  excommunicated. 

We  might  specify  some  other  religious  movements ;  for  ex- 
ample, that  which  took  place  at  Goslar,  in  Germany,  in  1052, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  Emperor  Henry  IV.,  who  was 
visiting  that  city  during  the  Christmas  holidays,  caused  those 
who  were  convicted  of  heresy  to  be  apprehended,  for  the  pur- 
pose, he  said,  of  striking  terror,  and  preventing  others  from 
falling  into  the  same  errors.  But  it  is  sufficient  for  our  present 
purpose  to  have  cited  the  foregoing  facts. — Centuriat.  Magdeb., 
Cent,  xi,  col.  246  ;  Recueil  des  Historiens  des  Gaules,  t.  xi, 
p.  20. 

It  would  be  desirable  to  know  exactly  the  doctrines  professed 
by  these  men  whom  the  Church  of  those  times  branded  with  the 
name  of  heretics,  and  put  to  an  ignominious  death.  They  would 
throw  much  light  on  the  question  which  now  occupies  us,  that 
is,  the  spiritual  relationship  which  possibly  existed  between  the 
religious  manifestations  we  have  been  detailing,  and  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  north  of  Italy,  in  the  mountains  of  the  diocese  of 
Turin,  who  have  been  already  mentioned,  and  will  come  again 
under  our  notice.  Contemporary  authors,  it  is  true,  have 
attempted  to  give  an  account  of  the  tenets  of  these  heretics ; 
but  judging  of  those  times  even  by  our  own,  and  looking  at  the 
manner  in  which  the  Romish  Church  speaks  of  the  reformers 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  of  their  lives  and  doctrines,  though 


ABSURD  ACCUSATIONS  REFUTED.  43 

the  Protestant  churches  were  then  existing,  and  consequently 
at  hand  to  correct  distorted  facts,  what  can  be  expected  from 
these  same  partisans  of  Romish  errors,  when  they  report  to  us 
the  tenets  and  lives  of  martyrs  who  have  had  no  one  to  defend 
their  memory,  and  to  protest  against  the  unjust  censures  with 
which  they  have  been  branded  ? 

Can  we  credit  a  statement  of  the  doctrines  attributed  to  the 
parties  by  such  writers  ?  No !  this  would  be  to  acquiesce  in  the 
calumny  and  injustice  that  have  been  heaped  on  men  who  de- 
served to  be  better  spoken  of.  They  were  reproached  with  the 
name  of  Manicheans ;  but  we  do  not  believe  that  they  deserved 
it.  The  forcible  expressions  and  energetic  language  with  which 
they  described  the  opposition  made  to  God,  and  to  the  work  of 
Christ,  by  the  prince  of  darkness,  this  effort  of  the  pretended 
heretics  to  exhibit  in  strong  colours  the  war  waged  by  the  wicked 
one  against  the  living  and  true  God,  against  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour, may  have  been  called  Dualism  and  Manicheism  by  men 
devoted  to  a  material  and  idolatrous  worship  of  God,  angels,  and 
saints.  So  there  arc  men  in  our  day  who  reject  the  doctrine  of 
the  existence  of  Satan,  and  his  opposition  to  the  work  of  Jesus 
Christ,  because  they  think  that  they  see  in  it  a  denial  of  the 
power  of  God, — Dualism  and  Manicheism;  and  especially  be- 
cause they  do  not  believe,  or  do  not  know  the  word  of  God 
which  reveals  this  melancholy  truth. 

We  believe,  then,  that  these  so-called  heretics  were  friends 
of  the  Gospel,  who,  themselves  illumined  by  the  light  that  was 
almost  everywhere  hid  under  a  bushel,  attempted  to  replace  it 
on  a  candlestick ;  but  whose  efforts  were  rendered  abortive  by 
that  thick  darkness  in  which  Europe  was  enveloped.  The  fol- 
lowing are  some- fragments  of  their  doctrine,  as  given  by  a  con- 
temporary author,  quoted  by  Fleury.  Those  who  are  taught  of 
God  will  here  recognize  the  lessons  of  the  Gospel,  in  spite  of  the 
unfavourable  form  under  which  they  are  presented  to  us: — 
"  They  affirm  that  baptism  does  not  wash  away  sin ;  that  the 
body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  are  not  made  by  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  priest ;  that  it  is  useless  to  pray  to  saints,  whether 
martyrs  or  confessors ;  lastly,  that  works  of  piety  are  a  useless 
labour,  from  which  no  recompense  can  be  expected,  and  no 
punishment  is  to  be  feared  for  the  most  criminal  pleasures." — 
Fleury,  Hist.  Eccles.,  t.  xiii,  p.  416. 


44  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

A  fragment  of  a  history  of  Aquitalne,  published  by  Pistorius, 
and  quoted  by  Usher,  attributes  the  following  errors  to  heretics 
in  the  time  of  King  Robert  and  of  Pope  Benedict  VIH. : — 
"  They  deny  baptism,  the  sign  of  the  holy  cross,  the  Church, 
and  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  himself,  the  honour  due  to  the 
saints  of  God,  lawful  marriages,  and  the  use  of  meats."  The 
heretics  of  Orleans,  Toulouse,  and  other  places,  are  also  called 
Manicheans  in  this  document. —  Usserius,  &c,  p.  279. 

Natalis  sums  up  the  errors  of  the  heretics  of  Arras  in  these 
few  words : — "  The  heretics  deny  the  mystery  of  holy  baptism, 
the  sacraments  of  the  eucharist,  penance,  holy  orders,  and  mar- 
riage. They  admit  of  no  worship  to  confessors,  no  veneration 
for  the  Saviour's  cross,  the  images  of  saints,  churches,  and  altars. 
They  deny  purgatory,  and  say  that  Christian  burial  is  of  no  ad- 
vantage to  the  deceased." — R.  P.  Natalis  Alexandria  &c,  t.  vii, 
p.  82. 

We  find  it  also  stated  in  Dupin,  "  that  they  attach  no  value 
to  bells,  nor  to  unction,  nor  to  exorcism." — Dupin,  Nouvelle  Bib- 
lioth.,  &c,  t.  viii,  pp.  127,  128. 

Radulph  Ardens,  according  to  Usher,  speaks  thus  of  the 
Manicheans  of  Agennois : — "  They  falsely  pretend  to  follow  the 
lives  of  the  apostles,  saying  that  they  may  not  lie,  nor  swear  at 
all." — Usserius,  &c,  p.  281. 

It  now  remains  to  deduce  some  inferences  from  the  foregoing 
facts. 

We  follow  the  traces  of  the  Church  that  continued  faithful  to 
evangelical  doctrines.  We  seek  for  them  in  the  dark  ages ;  and 
we  at  once  find  religious  manifestations,  which,  although  misre- 
presented by  the  reports  of  victorious  adversaries,  exhibit  to  our 
view  an  opposition  to  the  superstitious  worship  of  a  degenerate 
Church,  a  return  to  evangelical  doctrines,  a  life  of  self-denial, 
charity,  truth,  and  purity,  to  the  example  of  the  apostles,  whom 
they  professed  to  take  as  their  models.  Although  stigmatized 
by  prejudice,  ignorance,  and  hatred,  these  religious  movements 
appear  to  us  to  be  genuine.  We  believe  that  we  discover  among 
them,  under  the  rubbish  with  which  they  have  been  covered, 
something  more  than  materials  for  the  fire, — hay,  wood,  and 
stubble ;  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones, 
built  upon  the  true  foundation.  1  Cor.  Hi,  12. 


SOUKUES  01'  THIS  KELlOilOLi  MOVEMENT.  45 

If  now  we  endeavour  to  ascend  to  the  sources  of  these  reli- 
gious manifestations,  we  perceive  that  if  some  are  indigenous,  if 
they  seem  to  have  issued  from  the  very  soil  over  which  their 
subsequent  course  was  directed,  yet  there  are  other  springs 
which  must  be  traced  up  to  the  distant  and  solitary  valleys, 
where  those  gushing  streams  that  afterwards  watered  the  plains, 
displayed  their  wild  beauty  under  the  ancient  shade  of  the 
lofty  Alps,  far  away  from  the  observation  of  the  world. 

No  doubt,  God  has  preserved,  in  all  places,  in  his  Church, 
when  invaded  by  error  and  idolatry,  some  faithful  ones,  who 
have  not  wholly  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.  Such  in  France,  in 
the  eleventh  century,  was  the  illustrious  Berenger,  principal  of 
the  school  of  Tours,  of  whom  Teoduin,  bishop  of  Liege,  speaks, 
in  a  letter  addressed  to  King  Henry : — "  The  report,"  he  writes, 
"  is  spread  through  Gaul  and  in  all  Germany,  that  Bruno,  bishop 
of  Angers,  and  Berenger,  of  Tours,  have  revived  the  ancient 
heresies,  maintaining  that  the  Lord's  body  is  not  so  much  his 
body  as  the  shadow  and  figure  of  his  body,  destroying  lawful 
marriages,  and  abolishing,  as  far  as  lies  in  their  power,  the  bap- 
tism of  infants." — Fleury,  Hist.  Eccles.,  &c,  t.  xii,  p.  575. 

But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  evangelical  truth  which 
sought  to  manifest  itself,  was  also  conveyed  to  different  places, 
by  persons  who  were  not  natives  of  the  districts  in  which  they 
propagated  it. 

In  fact,  this  heresy,  almost  the  same  wherever  it  appeared,  is 
often  ascribed  to  the  seductions  of  numerous  emissaries  of  Anti- 
christ, spread  through  different  parts  of  the  west,  active  and 
insinuating  men,  who  seduced  the  people  imperceptibly,  &c. 

On  these  data,  we  think  it  must  be  admitted  that  this  heresy, 
in  many  places  where  it  existed,  was  the  work  of  special  emis- 
saries, or,  to  use  the  proper  term,  missionaries.  But  we  see  by 
the  writings  of  the  Vaudois,  which  will  be  fully  noticed  in  the 
sequel,  that  the  missionary  work  was  held  in  honour  among 
them,  and  even  engaged  the  special  attention  of  their  Synods, 
since  a  fund  was  set  apart  for  persons  who  were  employed  in 
such  expeditions.  Tins  fact,  confirmed  by  various  other  testi- 
monies of  their  adversaries,  tends  to  support  the  position  we  are 
maintaining.  But  more  than  this.  Italy  is  pointed  out,  on  two 
03casions,  as  the  native  country  of  these  abetters  of  heresy.  We 
have  just  seen  it  asserted,  that  the  heretics  of  Orleans  had  been 


4b'  HISTORY  OF  THK  VAUDOIS. 

won  over  to  heresy  by  a  woman  from  Italy ;  and  that  the  move- 
ment in  Arras  was  owing  to  the  teachings  of  some  persons  de- 
voted to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  who  also  came  from  Italy.* 
It  was  then  not  impossible,  and,  in  our  opinion,  it  is  probable, 
that  the  religious  movement  which  took  place  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  was  unjustly  taxed  with  Manicheism,  was  in  a  great 
measure  a  radiation  of  the  light  preserved  in  the  diocese  of  Claude 
of  Turin,  on  the  Italian  side  of  the  Alps.  We  believe,  therefore, 
that  the  religious  manifestations  we  have  been  mentioning,  go  to 
prove  the  preservation  of  a  faithful  Church  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Italian  Alps.  But  we  shall  shortly  lay  before  our  readers  addi- 
tional and  more  conclusive  evidence. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RELIGIOUS  MANIFESTATIONS  OF  THE  TWELFTH  CENTURY. 

The  little  success  of  the  attempts  made  in  the  eleventh  century 
to  establish  in  the  western  Church  the  pure  doctrines,  and  to  re- 
vive the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  might  lead  us  to  apprehend  that  the 
cause  of  truth  was  entirely  and  everywhere  suppressed,  and  that 
from  the  thinned  ranks  of  the  remnant  of  the  faithful  Church 
there  would  arise  no  more  courageous  adversaries  of  error  and 
superstition.  But  Christian  faith  hopes  when,  humanly  speaking, 
there  is  no  hope.  She  hopes,  because  she  trusts  in  her  Divine 
Leader.  She  expects  victory,  not  from  an  arm  of  flesh,  but  from 
the  power  of  Him  who  says  to  her,  "  Cry  aloud,  spare  not. — Lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Impel- 
led by  faith,  and  fortified  by  hope,  the  redeemed  servant  of 
Christ  does  not  ask,  "  Are  there  many  of  us  ?"  Sufficient  for  him 
is  the  promise  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour ;  and  alone,  if  so  it  must 
be,  he  consecrates  his  life  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  the 
salvation  of  souls. 

This  faith  was  not  wanting  to  the  feeble  remains  of  the  faith- 
ful Church.  If  the  lamp  of  truth,  which  was  still  burning  in  by- 
places,  was  small,  its  flame  was  yet  bright  and  well  fed.    In  the 

*  Ecrits  des  Vaudois,  livre  de  la  Discipline,  (Writings  of  the  Vaudois,  book 
of  Discipline,)  chap,  iv,  second  paragraph.— Leger,  <fcc,  part  i,  p.  192.— Perrin, 
Hist,  of  the  Vaudois,  chap.  iv. 


PIERRE  DE  BRUIS  AND  HENRY.  47 

year  1100  the  Church  of  the  Vaudois  valleys  set  forth  its  belief 
and  discipline,  and  reflected  its  life,  in  writings  with  which  we 
shall  make  our  readers  acquainted,  with  a  clearness  and  preci- 
sion that  by  no  means  indicate  a  recent  origin.  We  need  not, 
then,  be  astonished  to  see,  at  this  same  period,  evangelical  mis- 
sionaries coming  from  these  countries,  or  their  vicinity,  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  their  predecessors. 

Two  men  especially  attract  our  attention,  Pierre  de  Bruis 
and  Henry,  his  fellow-labourer.  The  first  was  a  priest;*  the 
second  was  often  designated  "  the  false  hermit."  They  began  to 
disseminate  their  doctrines  in  La  Septimanie,  which,  according 
to  Dupin,  included  Dauphine  and  Provence.  From  Provence 
they  passed  into  Languedoc  and  Gascogne,  whence  their  so-call- 
ed heresy  penetrated  into  Spain  and  England,  etc. — Centur.  Mag- 
deb.,  Cent,  xii,  col.  832. 

Pierre  de  Bruis  was  a  native  of  Dauphine,  and  Henry  an  Ita- 
lian. In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  seen  that  several  reli- 
gious manifestations  had  emanated  from  Italy.  We  have  observed, 
in  Chapter  IV.,  that  the  provinces  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  the 
districts  of  Vercelli,  Piedmont,  and  Astesan,  were  infected  with 
Manichean  heresy, — that  is,  in  our  view,  with  evangelical  doc- 
trines. Henry,  the  false  hermit,  the  companion  of  Pierre  de 
Bruis,  is  surnamed  the  Italian,  which  we  confess  does  not  prove 
that  he  belonged  formerly  to  those  districts  that  were  accused  of 
heresy ;  nevertheless,  this  supposition  does  not  appear  extrava- 
gant, especially  if  we  reflect  that  the  connexion  between  Henry 
and  Pierre  de  Bruis,  and  the  conformity  of  their  doctrine,  will 
be  explained  by  the  familiar  intercourse  that  Dauphine  always 
maintained  with  Piedmont,  and  the  Vaudois  valleys  in  particular. 
In  the  twelfth  century,  these  relations  became  more  intimate  than 
ever,  since  Dauphine  possessed  some  valleys  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Alps,  (valleys  which  make  a  part  of  Piedmont  at  the  pre- 
sent time,)  as  may  be  seen  in  the  letters-patent  of  the  year  1155, 
by  which  the  emperor  Frederic  granted  to  the  dauphin  the  right 
of  coining  money  at  Cesane,  in  the  valley  of  Susa.  (Histoire  du 
Dauphine,  Geneve,  cliez  Fabry,  1772,  t,  i,  passim,  and  p.  93,  etc. 
We  also  find  that  the  valley  of  Pragela,  or  Clusone,  belonged  to 

*  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  exact  nature  of  his  priesthood ;  whether 
lie  had  received  orders  from  a  known  superior,  or  whether  he  was  one  of  those 
who  were  persecuted,  and  sometimes  called  acephalous,  (acephahs,)  headless. 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Dauphine.  Thus  the  Vaudois  valleys  were  wedged  in  by  Dau- 
phine, by  which  they  were  bounded  on  three  sides.  On  the  basis 
of  these  geographical  and  political  facts,  nothing  is  easier  than  to 
explain  the  origin  of  the  doctrine  preached  by  Pierre  de  Bruis 
of  Dauphine,  and  by  Henry  the  Italian,  as  well  as  their  intimate 
connexion.  More  than  this :  if  we  trace  with  attention  the  la- 
bours of  these  two  illustrious  missionaries,  scrutinize  their  lives, 
and  examine  their  doctrines,  we  shall  be  satisfied  of  their  affilia- 
tion to  the  religious  movement  of  the  subalpine  countries,  which 
has  already  been  discussed,  but  of  which  a  fuller  account  will  be 
given  in  the  chapters  relating  to  the  doctrine  and  life  of  the  an- 
cient Vaudois. 

Few  particulars  have  come  down  to  us  respecting  the  conflicts 
and  sufferings  of  one  of  these  distinguished  servants  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  namely,  Pierre  de  Bruis.  It  is  only  known  that, 
after  preaching  and  labouring  to  establish  and  extend  the  Sa- 
viour's kingdom,  for  twenty  years,  he  received  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom, by  being  burned  to  death  at  St.  Gilles,  in  Languedoc, 
A.  D.  112G.—Centur.  Magdeb.,  Cent,  xii,  col.  832. 

More  details  are  known  respecting  the  adventurous  life  of 
Henry.  After  having  laboured  for  some  time  in  concert  with 
Bruis,  he  parted  from  him,  for  what  reason  we  are  not  informed. 
We  may  suppose  that,  their  work  being  well  advanced,  it  was 
thought  advisable  that  they  should  proclaim  separately  the  good 
news  of  salvation  and  regeneration,  for  the  conversion  of  a  greater 
number.  Henry  at  first  directed  his  steps  toward  Lausanne. 
He  came  at  a  later  period  to  Mans,  with  two  other  Italians. 
They  travelled  barefooted,  in  all  weathers,  each  carrying  a  staff, 
surmounted  with  a  cross.  The  exact  time  of  Henry's  arrival  at 
Mans  is  uncertain:  Dupin  gives  the  year  1110.  Authors  are 
better  agreed  as  to  the  effects  of  his  preaching  in  this  city.  Henry 
obtained  from  Heribert,  who  was  bishop  of  Mans,  and  just  on  the 
point  of  leaving  the  place,  permission  to  preach  in  the  churches 
during  his  absence.  His  preaching  made  a  powerful  impression 
on  his  hearers.  The  people  were  fascinated.  But  the  clergy, 
who  at  first  approved  and  welcomed  their  foreign  brother,  were 
not  slow  to  change  their  opinion,  when  they  felt  their  personal 
credit  diminished.  The  captivating  orator  was  prohibited  from 
preaching  any  more.  The  people  in  vain  expressed  their  disap- 
probation of  this  step,  and  threatened  that  they  would  have  no 


PIERRE  DE  BRUIS  AND  HENRY.  49 

other  pastor.  Henry,  though  loved  and  supported  by  the  mul- 
titude, was  obliged  to  give  way  and  depart.  From  Mans  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Poitiers ;  then,  as  some  say,  to  Perigueux ;  afterwards 
to  Bordeaux,  Toulouse,  and  the  parts  where  he  had  already  la- 
boured with  Bruis. — Dupin,  Nouvelle  Biblioth.,  t.  ix,  p.  101. 
Becueil  des  Historiens  des  Gaules,  t.  xiv,  p.  430.  Admonitio  prce- 
via — Gieseler,  p.  442. 

In  the  year  1134,  having  been  arrested  by  order  of  the  arch- 
bishop of  Aries,  he  was  conducted  by  that  prelate  to  the  council 
of  Pavia,  which  was  held  that  same  year.  Henry  was  condemn- 
ed as  a  heretic  by  that  assembly,  and  imprisoned.  By  some 
means,  however,  he  regained  his  liberty,  and  appeared  again  in 
the  south  of  France.  There  he  was  opposed  by  Bernard,  abbot 
of  Clairvaux,  an  eloquent  and  energetic  man,  who  had  gained  a 
high  reputation  by  the  superior  management  of  his  convent,  by 
his  zeal,  by  different  miracles  of  which  he  had  the  credit,  and 
by  his  victory  over  Abelard,  whose  condemnation  he  obtained 
at  the  council  of  Sens,  in  1 140.  By  the  efforts  of  this  abbot  and 
the  legate  Alberic,  who  were  sent  to  Toulouse,  in  1147,  to  re- 
press heresy,  Henry  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  bishop 
of  that  city,  and  conducted,  the  following  year,  to  the  council  of 
Rheims.  Being  condemned  a  second  time,  he  was  again  thrown 
into  prison,  where  he  soon  died,  after  more  than  forty  years  of 
toil  and  labour  for  the  cause  of  the  pure  gospel.  Many  of  these 
facts  are  contained  in  the  letter  of  Bernard  to  Bdephonse  or  Al- 
phonse,  count  of  Toulouse  and  St.  Gilles,  written  at  the  time  of 
his  mission.  If  the  injustice  of  the  abbot  of  Clairvaux  toward 
his  enemies  were  not  well  known,  we  should  be  astonished  to 
find  him  attributing  Henry's  abrupt  depailure  from  many  cities, 
in  which  he  had  sojourned,  to  prosecutions  for  acts  of  immorality  • 
but  we  well  know  that  it  was  for  his  preaching  and  so-called  he- 
resy that  this  confessor  of  the  faith  was  persecuted  and  forced  to 
make  his  escape.* 

The  success  of  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry  was  astonishing. 
The  work  in  which  they  laboured,  seconded  by  brethren  whose 
names  have  not  come  down  to  us,  was  rapidly  consolidated,  and 

*D.  Bernardi  Epistola,  241— Acta  Episcop.  Cenomanensium,  cap.  xxxiii.— 
Mabillionis  Analecta,  t.  iii,  p.  312. — Petrus  Cluniacensis,  in  Maxima  Biblioth., 
P.  P.,  t.  xxii,  cols.  861,  1034.— Histoire  du  Languedoc,  etc.,  t.  ii,  p.  1020.— Ite- 
cucil  des  Historicns  des  Gaules,  t.  xii,  p.  547,  etc 

3 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

spread  into  many  districts,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  part  of  the 
clergy  and  the  popes  to  destroy  it ;  until  at  last,  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  the  Roman  pontiffs  raised  against  it  those  brutal  and 
bloody  persecutions,  known  under  the  name  of  the  crusades 
against  the  Albigenses. 

The  regions  traversed  by  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry  soon 
swarmed  with  heretics,  even  in  those  parts  where  they  had  been 
partially  checked.  For  example,  at  Perigueux,  a  city  which 
Henry  passed  through  in  his  way  from  Poitiers  to  Bordeaux, 
there  were  found,  in  1140,  and  throughout  the  country,  Heri- 
bert  informs  us,  a  great  number  of  heretics,  who  professed  to 
lead  an  apostolic  life.  Another  contemporary  author,  the  abbot 
Morgan,  the  annalist,  relates  that,  about  the  year  1163,  heretics 
of  the  same  sort,  who  aspired  also  to  lead  an  apostolic  life,  had 
made  great  progress  in  Perigord.* 

At  Toulouse,  and  other  places  where  the  new  doctrine  had 
been  sown,  the  efforts  of  Bernard,  who  opposed  it,  had  at  first 
some  success,  particularly  at  the  moment  when  the  infant  Church 
was  deprived  of  its  leader,  Henry,  who  died  in  prison.  The 
Catholic  churches,  heretofore  deserted,  were  again  filled ;  the  here- 
tics concealed  themselves  ;  the  preaching  of  the  abbot  of  Clair- 
vaux  and  his  pretended  miracles  seemed  to  have  subdued  the 
common  people.  This  state  of  things,  however,  did  not  last 
long.  The  historians  of  Languedoc  admit  this.  "  St.  Bernard 
had  the  happiness,"  they  say,  "  to  lead  back  to  the  faith  those 
who  had  wandered ;  but  in  spite  of  all  his  care  the  heresy  of  the 
Henricians  secretly  kept  its  hold,  and,  some  years  later,  it  re- 
vived with  so  much  vigour  as  at  last  to  cause  extreme  desola- 
tion."— Histoire  du  Languedoc,  &c,  t.  ii,  p.  447. 

The  importance  of  this  fact  is  confirmed  by  the  acts  of  the 
Council  assembled  at  Tours,  in  1163.  The  fourth  canon,  in 
which  it  is  enjoined  on  the  bishops  of  Toulouse  and  the  neigh- 
bouring places,  to  have  a  watchful  eye  over  heretics,  mentions 
them  in  the  preamble  in  the  following  terms : — "  For  a  long 
time,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Toulouse,  there  has  arisen  a 
damnable  heresy,  which,  gradually  spreading  like  a  cancer, 
has  already  infected  Gascogne  and  many  other  provinces." — 
Ad  Labbeum.  .  .  Concil.,  t.  x,  col.  1419. 

*  Mabillionis  Analecta,  t.  iii,  p.  467.— Histoire  du  Languedoc,  &c,  in  the 
preamble  of  Book  xix. 


COUNCIL  AT  LOMBERS.  51 

In  A.  D.  1165  or  1176,  (authors  differ  as  to  the  date,)*  a 
council,  held  at  Lombers,  summoned  before  it  certain  heretics, 
who  had  been  discovered  in  the  province  of  Toulouse,  and  were 
known  by  the  title  of  "  good  men,"  (boni  homines.}  After  being 
examined  in  the  presence  of  Peter,  archbishop  of  Narbonne, 
Girard,  Albi,  Gaucelin,  Lodeve,  and  other  bishops,  they  were 
pronounced  heretics,  and  handed  over  to  the  secular  power. 
The  chief  among  them  was  called  Olivier.  They  were  nume- 
rous.    The  nobility  partook  of  their  opinions. 

"  But  the  condemnation  of  these  heretics,"  we  are  told  by  the 
Benedictine  historians  of  Languedoc,  "  did  not  stop  their  pro- 
gress, either  in  the  province  or  in  foreign  lands ;  they  spread 
especially  in  Burgundy  and  Flanders,  under  the  name  of  Popli- 
cans."  "  In  fact,"  they  say  in  another  passage,  "  the  error  made 
such  astonishing  progress,  that  it  gained  over  the  greater  part 
of  the  ecclesiastics  and  the  nobility  of  high,  and  part  of  low, 
Languedoc.  Raymond,  count  of  Toulouse,  a  prince  zealous  for 
the  faith,  resolved  to  remedy  the  evil.  Recollecting  the  services 
of  St.  Bernard,  which  had  been  rendered  thirty  years  before  to 
Count  Alphonse,  his  father,  he  applied  to  the  chapter-general 
of  Citeaux,  assembled  in  September,  1177,  and  besought  that 
body  to  come  to  his  succour.  '  This  heresy,'  added  he,  i  has 
prevailed  to  such  a  degree,  that  it  has  caused  division  between 
husband  and  wife,  father  and  son,  mother-in-law  and  daughter- 
in-law.  Persons  of  the  priestly  order  have  suffered  themselves 
to  be  corrupted ;  the  churches  are  forsaken  and  fallen  into  ruin ; 
they  refuse  to  administer  baptism ;  the  eucharist  is  treated  as  an 
abomination.  ...  As  for  myself — I  who  am  armed  with  two 
swords,  and  consider  it  my  glory  to  be  thereby  appointed  the 
avenger  and  the  minister  of  God's  wrath — I  seek  in  vain  for  the 
means  to  put  an  end  to  such  great  evils.  ...  I  therefore  hum- 
bly implore  your  succour,  counsel,  and  prayers,  to  extirpate 
this  heresy.' " — Histoire  du  Languedoc,  &c,  t  ii,  pp.  4-46. 

At  a  later  period,  the  same  Count  Raymond  adopted  the  very 
principles  which  he  had  at  first  disowned,  and  sacrificed  for  them 
his  property  and  estates  in  the  terrible  crusade  that  was  made 
against  his  people  and  himself. 

We  shall  not  undertake  to  recount  the  subsequent  history  of 

*  According  to  Usher  it  was  in  1176  ;  according  to  the  Recueil  des  Historiens 
des  Gaules,  in  1165. 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  so-called  heretics  of  Languedoc  and  the  neighbouring  pro- 
vinces. For  our  present  purpose  it  is  sufficient  to  have  shown 
the  connexion  of  the  religious  movements  in  the  south  of  France, 
during  the  twelfth  century,  with  the  similar  manifestations  of 
the  preceding  century,  and  with  the  religious  state  of  some 
countries  in  the  north  of  Italy,  particularly  Piedmont. 

But  before  dismissing  this  subject,  we  have  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  doctrines,  which,  according  to  the  reports  of  their 
adversaries,  were  preached  and  propagated  by  Pierre  de  Bruis, 
Henry,  and  their  fellow-labourers,  in  the  countries  above  men- 
tioned. 

Peter  the  Venerable,  abbot  of  Clugny,  attributes  to  Pierre  de 
Bruis  the  five  following  points  of  doctrine,  which  he  states  in 
his  ninth  letter,  entitled,  "  Against  the  Petrobrusians,"  and  ad- 
dressed to  the  archbishops  of  Aries  and  Embrun,  as  well  as  to 
the  bishops  of  Gap  and  Die. 

(1.)  He  (Pierre  de  Bruis)  denies  that  children,  before  they 
arrive  at  years  of  intelligence,  can  be  saved  by  baptism,  or  that 
the  faith  of  another  person  can  be  useful  to  them,  since,  accord- 
ing to  those  of  his  opinion,  it  is  not  the  faith  of  another  which 
saves,  but  the  faith  of  the  individual  with  baptism,  according  to 
our  Lord's  words :  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.'' 

(2.)  The  second  point  consists  in  this — that  we  ought  not  to 
build  either  temple  or  church,  but  we  ought  to  overturn  the 
existing  edifices  of  this  kind ;  that  consecrated  places  are  not 
necessary  for  Christian  devotion,  because  God,  who  is  invoked, 
understands  and  hearkens  to  those  who  are  worthy  of  being 
heard,  whether  in  a  tavern  or  a  church,  a  market-place  or  a 
temple,  before  an  altar  or  in  a  stable. 

(3.)  The  third  article  enjoins  the  cutting  in  pieces  of  the 
sacred  crosses  and  burning  them,  because  they  have  the  form 
of  the  instrument  which  was  made  use  of  to  torture  Jesus  Christ, 
and  so  cruelly  to  deprive  him  of  life ;  the  cross  is  not  worthy  of 
adoration  or  veneration,  or  any  kind  of  supplication ;  on  the 
contrary,  by  way  of  retribution  for  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
Christ,  it  merits  all  dishonour,  such  as  being  cut  in  pieces  and 
burned. 

(4.)  Bruis  not  only  denies  that  the  true  body  and  blood  of 
the  Lord  arc  offered  daily  and  continually  in  the  Church  by  the 


HERETICS  OP  THE  SOUTH  OF  FRANCE.  53 

sacrament,  but  declares  that  this  sacrament  is  nothing,  and  ought 
not  to  be  offered  to  God. 

(5.)  He  (Bruis)  ridicules  sacrifices,  prayers,  alms,  and  other 
good  works  performed  by  living  believers  on  behalf  of  such  as 
are  deceased ;  and  affirms  that  these  things  cannot  be  of  the 
slightest  use  to  the  dead. 

"  I  have  answered  these  five  points,"  says  Peter,  "  according 
as  God  has  granted  me  grace,  in  the  letter  which  I  have  ad- 
dressed to  your  holinesses."* 

The  abbot  goes  on  to  say : — "  But  after  the  zeal  of  the  faith- 
ful, in  burning  Pierre  de  Bruis,  near  St.  Gilles,  had  taken  ven- 
geance for  the  fire  which  he  had  lighted,  and  which  had  con- 
sumed the  cross  of  the  Lord ;  after  this  impious  man  had  passed 
from  the  fire  of  the  pile  of  fagots  to  eternal  fire,  the  heir  of  his 
heresy,  Henry,  with  I  know  not  what  other  persons,  so  far  from 
correcting  his  diabolical  doctrine,  endeavoured  to  confirm  it; 
and,  as  I  have  seen  in  a  volume,  which  they  say  proceeded  from 
his  lips,  he  has  published  not  only  these  five  points  of  doctrine, 
but  a  great  many  more."f 

The  Magdeburgh  Centuriators,  who  have  extracted  and  col- 
lected the  different  points  of  doctrine  professed  by  the  heretics 
of  the  south  of  France,  in  the  twelfth  century,  mention  some  other 
articles  of  faith  besides ;  for  example,  on  the  Lord's  supper,  "  That 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  were  not  offered  in  the  theatrical 
Mass,  and  that  it  was  not  an  oblation  made  for  the  salvation  of 
souls ;  that  the  altars  ought  to  be  destroyed ;  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  change  in  the  sacramental  elements  is  false ;  that  the  sa- 
cred supper  ought  not  now  to  be  given  to  men,  because  it  was 
once  given  by  Christ  to  his  apostles."  Evidently,  this  last  opin- 
ion is  incorrectly  reported,  since,  as  we  shall  see  by  the  testimony 
of  Bernard,  the  so-called  heretics  of  the  south  of  France  partook 
of  the  supper.  It  certainly  related  to  the  expiatory  sacrifice 
of  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  offered  only  once,  and  which  need 
not  and  cannot  be  repeated. 

On  Marriage :  "  That  the  priests  and  monks  ought  to  marry, 

*  Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxii,  col.  1033.— [Also  Gieseler's  Lehrbuch  der 
Kirchengeschichte,  vol.  ii,  part  2,  p.  524.     Third  edition.     Bonn.,  1832.] 

t  [Gieseler,  p.  527.]  Maxima  Biblioth.,  ibid.,  col.  1034.  The  reader  is  re- 
quested to  take  particular  notice  of  these  expressions,  as  they  prove  the  close 
connexion  that  subsisted  between  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry,  and  the  identity 
of  their  doctrine. 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

rather  than  be  the  prey  of  lust,  or  give  themselves  up  to  impu- 
rity/' 

On  Chants  and  Instruments  of  Music :  "  That  God  is  mocked 
by  the  chants  which  the  priests  and  monks  repeat  in  the  temples ; 
that  God  cannot  be  appeased  by  monkish  melodies." 

On  Meats :  "  That  it  is  allowable  to  eat  meat  on  Sundays  and 
other  days." 

On  the  Holy  Scriptures :  "  A  rumour  is  prevalent,"  said  the 
abbot  of  Clugny,  "  that  they  do  not  receive  the  whole  canon ; 
that  is  to  say,  all  the  writings  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments ;" 
he  also  said,  "  that  they  received  only  the  Gospels." 

But  here  we  beg  to  observe,  that  so  grave  an  accusation  as 
that  urged  by  Peter  against  the  heretics,  of  not  receiving  the 
whole  canon  of  Scripture,  rests  on  a  very  weak  foundation,  no- 
thing more  than  "  a  prevalent  rumour."  Such  a  charge  requires 
much  stronger  evidence  than  mere  rumour  to  establish  it. 

He  also  says,  "  They  believe  in  one  canon ;  they  do  not  grant 
the  same  authority  to  the  Fathers  as  to  the  Holy  Scriptures." — 
Centur.  Magdeb.  xii,  col.  832,  etc. 

The  same  centuriators  have  also  extracted  from  the  writings 
of  Bernard  the  errors  which  he  noticed  in  the  Apostolic  heretics. 
We  translate  the  passage : 

"  The  Apostolicals  or  Henricians ;  their  doctrines,  according 
to  St.  Bernard,  as  far  as  they  can  be  ascertained,  are : 

(i.)  "  That  infants  ought  not  to  be  baptized. 

(ii.)  "  That  they  (the  apostolicals)  have  the  power  of  conse- 
crating daily  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  at  their  table,  to  nou- 
rish themselves,  since  they  are  themselves  the  body  of  Christ  and 
his  members.* 

(iii.)  "  That  virgins  alone  are  allowed  to  marry,  because  God 
created  man  and  woman  virgins. 

(iv.)  "  That  continence  must  be  sought  by  marriage. 

(v.)  "  That  the  fire  of  purgatory  does  not  exist  The  reason 
is,  that  the  soul  when  separated  from  the  body  passes  into  a  state 
of  repose  or  damnation 

(vi.)  "  That  we  must  not  pray  for  the  dead. 

*  We  read  in  the  thirteenth  sermon  of  Ekbert,  abbot  of  St.  Florin,  the  follow- 
ing words  relative  to  the  heretics  of  Cologne,  of  the  same  period  :  "  They  say- 
that  they  alone  make  the  body  of  the  Lord  at  their  tables.  But  they  use  the 
words  with  a  double  meaning ;  for  they  do  not  intend  the  true  body  of  Christ, 
but  they  call  their  own  flesh  the  body  of  Christ." 


HERETICS  ALONG  THE  RHINE.  55 

(vii.)  "  That  wo  ought  not  to  ask  for  the  intercession  of  depart- 
ed saints. 

(viii.)  "  That  a  man  who  lives  in  sin  ought  not  to  be  a  bishop. 

(ix.)  "  That  it  is  not  lawful  to  eat  milk,  nor  what  is  made  from 
it,  nor  anything  that  comes  by  procreation. 

(x.)  "  They  do  not  acknowledge  the  Church,  nor  the  pontifi- 
cate ;  but  assert  that  they,  themselves,  are  the  Church. 

(xi.)  "  That  swearing  or  oath-taking  is  forbidden." 

Bernard  cites  besides,  several  other  points  of  doctrine  and  opin- 
ions of  the  Apostolicals.  Among  other  things  he  says,  "  That 
they  depreciate  the  orders  of  the  Church ;  they  do  not  receive  its 
institutions;  they  despise  its  sacraments,  and  do  not  obey  its 
commandments."  He  remarks  that  these  doctrines  have  been 
collected  by  his  own  research,  partly  from  altercations  or  disputes, 
and  partly  from  the  lips  of  those  who  had  returned  to  the  papal 
Church.  On  the  other  hand,  we  may  remark  that  there  is  reason 
to  apprehend  that  prejudice  and  animosity  have  more  than  once 
led  to  incorrect  and  unfavourable  reports  of  the  doctrines  of 
those  who  were  looked  upon  as  heretics.  The  reader  will  have 
already  had  reason  to  make  this  observation  for  himself;  for  evi- 
dently many  of  the  heretical  opinions  as  given  by  Peter  of  Clugny 
and  Bernard  are  incomplete,  and  presented  in  a  false  light ;  and 
we  need  only  compare  analogous  opinions  together,  to  be  con- 
vinced that  such  is  the  case. 

A  contemporary  author,  whom  we  have  already  mentioned, 
H6ribert,  a  monk  of  Angouleme,  says  of  the  heretics  of  Perigord 
and  Perigueux  in  particular :  "  In  the  country  of  Perigueux,  a 
multitude  of  heretics  have  appeared,  who  pretend  to  lead  an 
apostolic  life.  They  neither  eat  meat  nor  drink  wine  oftener 
than  once  in  three  days,  and  then  very  moderately.  They  bend 
their  knees  a  hundred  times  a  day.  They  do  not  take  money. 
Their  sect  is  very  perverse  and  secret.  They  set  no  value  on 
the  Mass,  and  say  that  the  wafer  is  not  to  be  taken,  but  a  bit  of 
bread.  They  adore  neither  the  cross,  nor  the  image  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  but  rather  hinder  those  who  would.  A  great  many  peo- 
ple have  been  already  seduced ;  not  only  nobles  who  abandon 
their  wealth,  but  also  scholars,  priests,  monks,  and  friars." — Ma- 
bUlionis  Analecta,  t.  iii,  pp.  467-483. 

The  annalist  de  Morgan,  in  Thomas  Gale,  under  the  date  of 
the  year  1163,  expresses  himself  nearly  in  the  same  manner. 


56  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

He  adds  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of  persuasion,  and 
of  the  Christian  life  which  they  possessed ;  it  is  the  only  one  we 
shall  report :  "  If  ignorant  persons,"  he  says,  "  come  to  them,  at 
the  end  of  eight  days  they  become  so  accomplished,  that  they 
cannot  be  surpassed  either  in  information  or  exemplary  conduct." 
— Recueil  des  Historiens  des  Gaules,  t.  xiii,  p.  108. 

The  religious  and  evangelical  movement  did  not  remain  con- 
fined within  the  limits  of  the  south  of  France.  Manifestations 
very  similar,  although  presenting,  as  they  are  reported,  some 
points  of  difference,  appeared  along  the  Rhine,  in  Flanders,  Bur- 
gundy, Lower  Britanny,  and  elsewhere.  Evervin,  writing  to 
Bernard  about  the  heretics  discovered  at  Cologne,  of  whom  a 
great  number  were  burned,  and  the  rest  returned  to  the  Church, 
expresses  himself  as  follows :  "  You  know,  my  lord,  that,  on  re- 
turning to  the  Church,  they  have  told  us  that  they  are  a  very 
great  multitude,  spread  almost  everywhere,  and  that  they  have 
in  their  ranks  some  of  our  ecclesiastics  and  monks.  And  those 
who  have  been  burned,  have  urged  in  their  defence,  that  this 
heresy  has  been  propagated  secretly  from  the  times  of  the  mar- 
tyrs to  the  present  day,  and  has  existed  in  Greece  and  some  other 
countries." 

This  spiritual  soldiery,  armed  against  error  for  the  triumph  of 
truth,  gradually  recruited  its  ranks  through  a  long  course  of 
time,  with  prudence  and  a  somewhat  timid  sagacity,  and  at  last, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  ventured  on  a  more  open  warfare,  in 
proportion  as  it  saw  its  forces  increase.  Rome  itself,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Pope,  the  fortress  of  superstition,  saw  its  enemy  pass 
through  its  gates,  and  preach  within  its  walls.  In  1 1 28,  a  foreign 
preacher  excited  as  much  surprise,  as  admiration  or  hatred,  by 
his  discourses.  His  name  was  Arnulph :  his  origin  was  never 
known.  But  thus  much  may  be  affirmed,  that  a  Yaudois  mission- 
ary would  not  have  preached  otherwise  than  he  did.  Let  us 
hear  the  report  made  of  him  by  Trithemius :  "  At  this  time,  un- 
der Pope  Honorius  II.,  a  certain  priest,  named  Arnulph,  came 
to  Rome,  a  man  of  great  devotion,  and  a  distinguished  preacher. 
While  he  proclaimed  the  word  of  God,  he  rebuked  the  dissolute- 
ness, the  libertinism,  the  avarice,  and  the  extreme  haughtiness 
of  the  clergy.  He  exhibited,  for  universal  imitation,  the  poverty 
and  life  of  spotless  integrity  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles.  In 
truth,  his  preaching  was  approved  by  the  Roman  nobility,  as 


ABELARD  AND  ARNOLD  OP  BRESCIA.       57 

that  of  a  true  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  exposed  him  to  the  intense  hatred  of  the  cardinals  and  the 
clergy,  who  seized  him  by  night,  and  put  him  to  death  secretly."* 
In  the  ranks  of  the  antagonists  of  Rome,  of  superstition,  and 
of  immorality,  might  be  also  seen  men  whose  principles  were, 
perhaps,  not  always  founded  on  a  simple  faith  in  the  pure  gospel 
of  Christ  Such  was  Abelard,  in  France ;  such  was  Arnold  of 
Brescia,  in  Italy.  The  latter  dared,  like  Arnulph,  to  attack  Borne 
in  Rome  itself.  One  word  on  his  life  and  labours.  Being  a  na- 
tive of  Brescia,  (Brixia,)  in  Lombardy,  he  might  have  obtained 
a  knowledge  of  the  Vaudois  doctrines,  though  history  does  not 
expressly  affirm  it.  We  are  simply  told  that  he  was  brought  up 
in  France,  near  the  famous  Abelard.  His  career  was  full  of 
adventure,  and  his  labours  seem  to  have  been  as  much  political 
as  religious.  On  returning  to  his  native  country,  having  taken 
the  habit  of  a  monk,  he  began  to  preach.  Having  been  excom- 
municated by  the  Lateran  Council,  under  Innocent  H.,  in  the 
year  1 1 39,  he  was  obliged  to  take  to  flight  He  retired  to  Zurich, 
in  Switzerland,  and  there  propagated  his  principles.  Being  de- 
nounced by  Bernard  to  the  bishop  of  Constance,  he  was  disturbed 
in  his  retreat,  and  passed  again  into  Italy.  He  was  at  Rome  in 
1145,  in  the  time  of  Eugenius  III.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux  once 
more  wrote  against  him  to  cardinal  Guido,  warning  him  that  "  his 
conversation  was  honey,  and  his  doctrine  poison."  "  He  has,"  he 
added,  "  the  head. of  a  dove,  and  the  tail  of  a  serpent."  In  his 
letter  to  the  bishop  of  Constance,  Bernard  had  involuntarily 
borne  a  favourable  testimony  to  his  enemy,  when  he  said,  "  I 
wish  that  the  doctrine  of  Arnold  of  Brescia  was  as  sound  as  bis 
life  is  austere ;  and,  if  you  would  know  him,  let  me  tell  you  that 
he  is  neither  gluttonous  nor  a  wine-bibber ;  only,  like  the  devil, 
he  hungers  and  thirsts  for  the  blood  of  souls."  This  refers  to 
Arnold's  zeal  for  converting  the  world  to  his  doctrines.  In  his 
preaching  he  dwelt  incessantly  on  the  crying  abuse  of  the  power 
and  wealth  of  the  clergy.  According  to  Otho  of  Freisingen,  Ar- 
nold declared,  "  that  priests  who  had  landed  property,  bishops 
who  possessed  the  revenues  of  vacant  benefices,  (regales?)  and 
monks  who  had  estates,  could  not  be  saved  ;f  thfit  all  these  things 

*  Trithemius,  or  Chronica  insignis,  p.  157.— Leger,  etc.,  pt.  i,  p.  152,  who  re- 
ports the  facts  a  little  differently,  according  to  Platina. 
t  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  Apostolicals  or  Vaudois. 

3* 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

belonged  to  the  sovereign,  and  that  he  ought  not  to  grant  them 
to  any  but  laymen."  The  poet  Gunther  adds,  "  that  Arnold  de- 
spised the  delicate  meats,  the  splendid  vestments,  the  misplaced 
pleasantries  and  boisterous  mirth  of  the  clergy,  the  ostentation 
of  the  pontiffs,  the  dissolute  manners  of  the  abbots,  and  the  pride 
of  the  monks." 

After  having  succeeded  in  concealing  himself  a  long  time  at 
Rome,  where  his  political  opinions  were  much  relished  by  the 
citizens,  he  was  at  last  arrested  in  1155,  and  burned  there  by 
order  of  the  prefect  Peter.  His  ashes  were  thrown  into  the  Ti- 
ber, to  prevent  his  disciples  from  making  relics  of  them.* 

All  these  antagonists  of  Rome,  who  sustained  the  cause  of 
truth  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  who  were  connected  with  each 
other  by  an  analogous  or  common  origin,  as  well  as  by  features 
of  resemblance  of  more  than  one  kind,  received  from  their  ene- 
mies particular  denominations,  besides  the  common  appellation 
of  heretics.  It  would  appear,  also,  that  they  were  sometimes  de- 
signated by  names  of  their  own  choosing.  Branded,  in  the  ele- 
venth century,  with  the  name  of  Manicheans,  as  favourers  of 
ancient  heresies ;  in  the  twelfth  century,  they  were  called  Apos- 
tolicals,  from  their  professing  to  lead  lives  worthy  of  the  apostles. 
Bernard  always  gives  them  this  title  ironically,  whether  speak- 
ing of  the  disciples  of  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry,  or  of  the  sec- 
taries of  Cologne.  In  the  second  half  of  the  twelfth  century 
new  designations  were  added  to  the  preceding,  according  as  the 
stream  of  pretended  heresy  flowed  through  new  countries,  and 
as  some  particular  circumstance  modified  the  course  of  this  re- 
formation more  in  its  appearance  than  in  reality.  In  various 
places,  they  bore  the  name  of  Cathari,  or  Purists,  on  account  of 
the  purity  to  which  they  aspired.f  In  Flanders,  they  were  call- 
ed Piphles,  a  word  of  unknown  etymology ;  in  many  parts  of 
France,  Texerans,  or  Tisserands,  (weavers,)  from  the  trade  to 
which  many  of  them  belonged.  The  heretics  of  Aquitaine,  who 
passed  over  to  England  about  the  year  1160,  were  called  Popli- 
cans,  as  well  as  those  of  Vezelay ;  perhaps,  because,  in  attacking 
Pharisaic  formalism,  they  insisted  much  on  the  humility,  penitence, 
and  faith  of  the  publican  in  the  gospel.  The  title  Patarins,  or 
Paterins,  given  in  Italy  and  also  in  France  to  these  same  persons, 

*  Otho  of  Freisingen,  p.  248.— Natalis,  t.  vii,  pp.  88,  89.— Dupin  and  Fleury. 
tThe  details  are  given  in  Usher,  p.  269,  etc. 


DESIGNATIONS  GIVEN  TO  HERETICS.  59 

was  derived  from  the  name  of  a  quarter  in  Milan  to  which  the 
married  priests  were  banished,  in  1058,  to  celebrate  their  wor- 
ship ;*  or  rather  it  is  a  synonyme  with  persecuted,  or  those  re- 
served for  persecution,  from  the  verb  pati,  which  signifies  to  suf- 
fer. J  It  appears  that  they  designated  the  heretical  travellers,  or 
missionaries,  by  the  nickname  Passagins.  (Usher,  p.  306.)  They 
were  also  called  Good  Men  (boni  homines)  in  Germany  and 
France.  The  same  good-men  were  also  called  Perfect  (perfecti) 
by  those  of  the  same  faith ;  a  term  indicating  their  superiority 
over  simple  believers,  who  were  designated  by  the  name  of  The 
Consoled,  (consolati,)  on  account  of  the  peace  of  heart  which  the 
gospel  communicated  to  them.  (Usher,  p.  293.)  The  reproach- 
ful name  of  Insabbates  (mentioned  for  the  first  time  by  Eberard 
de  Bethune  under  this  form;  Xabatatenses,  from  xabatata,  a 
kind  of  wooden  sandal)  was  also  given  them ;  because,  said  fa- 
ther Natalis,  they  celebrate  no  Sabbath  or  feast  days,  and  do  not 
discontinue  their  work  on  the  days  consecrated  among  the  [Ro- 
man] Catholics  to  Christ,  the  blessed  virgin,  and  the  saints.f 

It  was  more  usual  in  the  following  century,  though  several  ex- 
amples may  be  cited  in  the  twelfth,  to  designate  the  friends  of 
alleged  novel  doctrines  by  the  names  of  their  country  or  parti- 
cular leaders.  Such  were  the  names — heretics  of  Provence,  Tou- 
louse, Agen,  and  Picardy ;  Albigenses,  Lombards,  Bohemians ; 
Petrobrusians,  from  Pierre  de  Bruis ;  Henricians,  from  Henry ; 
Arnoldists,  from  Arnold  of  Brescia ;  Leonists,  from  Leon,  etc. 

Lastly,  and  specially,  we  must  mention  that  title  which  is  the 
most  celebrated  and  most  worthy  of  our  best  attention — we  mean 
that  of  Vaudois,  which  was  constantly  given  by  [Roman]  Ca- 
tholic authors  from  the  thirteenth  century,  not  to  any  one  of  the 
subdivisions  of  the  alleged  heretical  sect,  but  to  the  whole  sect. 
A  single  testimony,  among  many,  will  suffice  to  convince  us  of 
the  generality  of  this  designation  :  it  is  a  work  which  was  written 
about  the  year  1254,  by  a  celebrated  inquisitor,  Rainier,  or  Rei- 
nier  Sacco,  of  the  order  of  preaching  friars,  who  persecuted  the 
Christians  who  were  opposed  to  Rome.  This  work,  which  treats 
of  all  the  heresies  and  pretended  impieties  that  were  attributed 

*  According  to  Sigonius,  De  Regno  Italico,  book  ix. 
t  According  to  De  Vineis,  Epist.,  book  i,  epist.  27  or  96. 
$  Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxiv,  cols.  1520,  1572,  etc.— P.  Natalis  Alexandri, 
etc.,  t.  vii,  pp.  94,  95. 


60  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

to  the  Cathari,  Paterins,  Toulousians,  Albigenses,  Passagins, 
Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  Arnoldists,  etc.,  in  a  word,  to  the  sectaries 
of  the  twelfth  century,  is  entitled,  Livre  de  Rainier,  de  Vordre  des 
precheurs,  contre  les  heretiques  Vaudois,  ( Valdenses :)  ["  Book  of 
Rainier,  of  the  order  of  preachers,  against  the  Vaudois  heretics."] 
From  this  we  infer,  that,  from  the  commencement  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  the  name  of  Vaudois  served  to  designate  all  the 
pretended  heretics  of  the  age. 

Moreover,  an  author  of  the  twelfth  century,  Bernard  de  Fon- 
cald,  near  Saint  Pons,  in  Languedoc,  who  wrote,  according  to 
Dupin,  about  the  year  1180,  gives  the  name  Vaudois  to  the  same 
heretics  who  are  called  Good  Men  in  the  acts  of  the  Council  of 
Lombers.  "  These  Vaudois,"  he  says,  "although  condemned  by 
the  same  sovereign  pontiff,  (Lucius  II.,)  continued  to  diffuse  with 
surpassing  audacity,  far  and  wide,  through  all  the  world,  the 
poison  of  their  perfidy.  This  is  why  Bernard,*  lord  archbishop 
of  Narbonne,  opposed  them,  (at  the  Council  of  Lombers,  when 
bishop  of  Lodeve,)  in  the  name  of  the  Church,  as  a  fortress ;  in 
fact,  having  assembled  a  considerable  number  of  the  clergy  and 
laity,  monks  and  seculars,  he  brought  them  to  trial.  In  a  word, 
after  their  cause  had  been  examined  with  great  care,  they  were 
condemned."  The  collection  of  the  Historians  of  Gaul,  (Histo- 
riens  des  Gaules,)  in  a  summary  which  precedes  the  acts  of  the 
council,  confirms,  in  part,  the  facts  already  mentioned. — Maxima 
Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t,  xxiv,  pp.  1585,  1586. 

This  name  of  Vaudois  (Valdenses)  given  to  heretics  in  the 
south  of  France,  by  an  author  of  the  same  age  and  country,  is  an 
additional  proof  of  the  common  origin  of  the  religious  manifesta- 
tions on  this  side  and  beyond  the  Alps,  a  confirmation  of  what 
we  have  stated,  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  of  the  intimate 
connexion  of  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry  with  the  Christians  of 
the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  with  the  inheritors  of  the  principles  of 
Claude  of  Turin  and  the  friends  of  Vigilantius. 

*  This  Bernard  Gaucelin,  bishop  of  Lodeve,  conducted  the  cause  at  Lombers 
against  the  Good  Men,  and  pronounced  the  sentence.  He  became  archbishop 
of  Narbonne  in  1181.  He  does  not  appear  in  any  other  councils.  See  Historiens 
des  Gaules,  t.  xiv,  p.  430. 


THREE  ETYMOLOGIES  PROPOSED.  61 

CHAPTER  VII. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  VAUDOIS. 

Historical  clearness,  and,  what  is  still  more  important,  truth, 
equally  demand  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  the  name 
Vaudois,  which  was  given  to  reputed  heretics  of  the  twelfth  and 
following  centuries,  in  France,  the  north  of  Italy,  and  Germany. 

Three  principal  etymologies  have  been  proposed.  According 
to  some,  it  is  derived  from  Valdo,  whose  disciples  were  called 
the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  with  which  epithet  it  may  be  considered 
as  synonymous ;  according  to  others,  Vaudois  is  derived  from 
vaux,  (valleys,)  as  Vallenses  from  the  Latin  word  vallis,  a  valley, 
and  Valdenses  ([Waldenses]  most  generally  used)  from  vallis 
densa,  a  thick,  or  shaded  valley.  Lastly,  in  the  opinion  of  others, 
the  name  Vaudois  was  a  term  of  reproach,  synonymous  with  sor- 
cerer. 

Let  us  examine  each  of  these  etymologies.  Alain  de  l'He,  or 
de  Lille,  who  lived  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century*  and  the 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth,  according  to  the  most  common  opin- 
ion, expresses  himself  as  follows : — "  There  are  certain  heretics 
who  pretend  to  be  just,  while  they  are  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing 
.  .  .  They  are  called  Valdenses,  from  the  name  of  their  leader, 
Valdus." 

Pierre  de  Vaux  Cernay,  or  Sernay,  an  author  known  at  the 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  speaks,  in  his  History  of 
the  Albigenses,  (Histoire  des  Albigeois,)  of  the  Vaudois  who 
were  spread  among  them.  "  There  are  besides,"  he  says,  "  the 
heretics  called  Valdenses,  after  the  name  of  one  Valdius,  of  Ly- 

ons."f 

Later  [Roman]  Catholic  authors  have  agreed  in  admitting  this 
etymology,  which  we  reject  with  good  reason,  as  will  be  seen. 
But  before  adducing  our  proofs,  it  will  be  proper  to  state  what 
we  know  about  Valdus,  or  Valdo,  and  his  work. 

Pierre,  a  merchant  and  citizen  of  Lyons,  called  also  by  his- 
torians Pierre  Valdo,  Valdus,  [Waldus,]  Valdius,  Valdensis,  or 

*  According  to  Bossuet,  he  died  in  1202  ;  according  to  Natalis,  in  1181 ;  Cave 
says  that  he  flourished  in  1215  ;  and  Visch,  that  he  died  in  1294. 

tPetri  Monachi,  coenobii  vallium  Cernaii,  etc.— Historia  Albigensium,  cap.  ii, 
apud  Duchesne. 


62  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Valdecius,  (according  to  Usher ;  p.  159,)  and  Valdesius,  having 
been  deeply  affected  by  the  sudden  death  of  one  of  his  friends, 
in  a  party  of  pleasure,  formed  the  resolution  of  renouncing  the 
world,  and  labouring  thenceforth  only  for  his  salvation.*  Luther, 
the  celebrated  reformer  of  Germany  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
entered  a  convent,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  concerns  of  reli- 
gion, in  consequence  of  a  similar  event.  Pierre  gave  his  utmost 
attention  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible ;  it  is  even  said  that  he  trans- 
lated some  books  of  it  from  the  Latin  into  the  vulgar  tongue. 
He  also  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Fathers.  Stephanus 
de  Borbone,  or  de  Bellavilla,  who  gives  us  these  particulars,  adds : 
"  This  citizen  (of  Lyons)  having  often  read  these  sentences  and 
engraven  them  in  his  memory,  determined  to  seek  after  that  evan- 
gelical perfection  which  the  apostles  had  practised.  Having  sold 
all  his  goods,  in  contempt  of  the  world,  he  distributed  the  money 
he  had  gained  to  the  poor,  and  dared  to  usurp  the  office  of  the 
apostles,  preaching  the  gospel,  and  the  things  he  had  committed 
to  memory,  in  the  streets  and  public  places.  He  encouraged 
men  and  women  to  do  the  same,  whom  he  collected  around  him, 
and  confirmed  in  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel.  He  sent  men  of 
all  trades,  even  the  meanest,  into  the  surrounding  country,  to 
preach.  These  men  and  women,  ignorant  and  illiterate,  running 
over  the  country,  gaining  admission  into  town-halls,  and  preach- 
ing in  public  places,  and  even  in  churches,  excited  others  to  do 
the  same."f 

Detachment  from  the  world,  and  zeal  for  the  advancement  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  according  to  the  gospel,  were  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  religious  movement  that  was  abetted  by  Pierre, 
the  merchant  of  Lyons.  It  was  in  allusion  to  the  first  of  these 
peculiarities,  the  most  striking  in  the  eyes  of  the  devotees  of  the 
world  and  of  wealth,  that  the  disciples  of  a  man  who  had  reduced 
himself  to  poverty  in  order  to  follow  Jesus  Christ  were  called  the 
Poor  Men  of  Lyons.  Their  great  success  in  the  conversion  of 
souls,  the  truly  apostolic  life  of  the  former  merchant,  quickly 
drew  on  himself  and  his  adherents  a  violent  persecution.  Ana- 
thematized and  prosecuted  by  Jean  de  Bollesmanis,  or  Belles- 

> 

*  This  is  Rainier's  opinion,  which  we  follow.  Polichdorf,  and  an  anonymous 
writer  in  the  collection  of  the  Historiens  des  Gaules,  report  the  fact  differently. 

t  Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxv,  p.  264.— Stephanus  de  Borbone  (orde  Bella- 
villa)  Liber  de  septem  Donis  Spiritus  Sancti,  pt.  iv,  ch.  xxx  ;  in  Echard,  t.  i. 


VALDO.  63 

mains,  archbishop  of  Lyons,  Pierre  made  his  escape  into  Picardy, 
where  he  remained  a  while.  He  then  withdrew  into  Vindelicia, 
the  present  Suabia  and  Bavaria,  where  he  sojourned  a  long  time ; 
at  last,  he  went  into  Bohemia,  and  there  ended  his  days.* 

Pierre,  the  merchant  of  Lyons,  may  be  regarded  as  the  most 
eminent  continuator  of  the  labours  of  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry. 

We  now  resume  our  inquiry  respecting  the  name  Vaudois, 
which  Roman  Catholic  writers  have  derived  from  Yaldo,  as  if 
he  had  been  the  leader  of  the  Vaudois  sect,  and  the  author  of 
this  reputed  heresy. 

(I.)  The  Vaudois,  they  assert,  received  their  name  from  that  of 
Valdo. 

(1 .)  We  observe,  that  in  the  canons  of  councils,  and  other  offi- 
cial documents  relative  to  the  disciples  of  Pierre,  the  merchant 
of  Lyons,  these  persons  never  receive  the  appellation  of  Vaudois, 
but  are  always  designated  by  the  name  of  the  Poor  Men  of  Ly- 
ons ;  the  name  Valdo  is  never  mentioned  further.  A  treatise 
of  an  anonymous  author,  quoted  in  Martene,  on  the  heresy  of  the 
Paores  of  Lyons,  never  gives  the  name  of  Vaudois  to  Pierre's 
disciples ;  moreover,  it  never  gives  him  the  name  Valdo,  but 
always  that  of  Valdensis,  that  is,  the  Vaudois,  which  is  very  dif- 
ferent; for  this  designation,  being  equivalent  to  an  adjective, 
would  mark  the  origin  of  the  religious  opinions  of  the  person  to 
whose  name  it  is  affixed. 

(2.)  In  the  next  place  we  remark,  that  Pierre,  the  merchant 
of  Lyons,  was  not  the  originator  of  the  religious  movement  which 
appeared  in  France  before  the  commencement  of  the  twelfth 
century,  since  he  did  not  preach  till  about  the  year  1180  ;  and 
if  the  reputed  heretics  of  Agen,  Toulouse,  Albi,  and  other  places, 
were  called  Vaudois,  this  name  could  not  have  been  given  them 
on  account  of  Valdo,  as  he  was  not  their  leader. 

(3.)  The  name  Vaudois  could  not  be  derived  from  that  of 
the  merchant  of  Lyons,  for  the  name  Valdo  never  belonged  to 
him.  In  his  time,  about  the  year  1 180,  it  was  still  the  custom  to 
have  only  one  name,  that  given  at  baptism,  for  family  names  had 
not  then  been  brought  into  use :  it  is  true  that  a  particular  de- 
signation was  often  added  to  the  baptismal  name,  that,  for  instance, 
of  a  person's  residence  or  profession.  By  this  qualifying  epithet, 
the  individual  in  question  was  sufficiently  distinguished  from  every 
*  Usher,  p.  266,  who  quotes  Thuanus  (De  Thou)  Hist.,  c.  v. 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

other ;  but  our  supposed  leader  of  the  sect  of  the  Vaudois,  whose 
name  was  Pierre,  is  ordinarily  distinguished  by  one  of  the  follow- 
ing qualifications, — Pierre,  a  citizen  of  Lyons ;  Pierre,  a  mer- 
chant, or  trader  of  Lyons. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  appellation  Valdo,  sometimes  and  sub- 
sequently given  to  Pierre,  indicates  the  place  of  his  origin,  and 
may  be  considered  as  synonymous  with  native  of  Yaud,  or  Val- 
dum,  or  Vaudram,  which  might  have  been  a  Lyonnese  town. 
But  why  this  double  designation  of  place  ?  Pierre  was  sufficiently, 
and  very  properly,  distinguished  by  that  of  citizen,  or  merchant, 
of  Lyons,  as  he  really  was.  Besides,  Valdo  would  be  very  in- 
correctly derived  from  Valdum,  or  Vaudram,  even  on  the  gra- 
tuitous supposition  that  he  was  a  native  of  such  a  town.  The 
right  word  would  have  been  Yaldunensis,  or  Vaudramensis.  And 
even  if  this  name  Valdo  had  been  taken  from  the  place  of  his  birth, 
why  all  this  uncertainty  in  the  designation  and  orthography  ?  For 
Pierre  is  called  Valdo,  Valdus,  Valdius,  Valdensis,  Valdecius,  and 
Valdesius,  etc. —  Usher,  p.  159. 

A  surname  so  undecided,  so  varied  in  its  form,  so  rarely  em- 
ployed during  Ins  lifetime  to  designate  Pierre,*  the  merchant  of 
Lyons,  cannot  be  regarded  as  the  root  of  a  name  so  precise  and 
invariable  as  that  of  Vaudois,  given  to  the  reputed  sect  that  in- 
vaded France,  Germany,  Italy,  Spain,  etc.,  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury ;  while  this  uncertainty  in  the  pronunciation  and  orthogra- 
phy of  the  appellative  Valdo,  may  be  easily  accounted  for,  if  we 
take  it  to  be  a  surname  synonymous  with  Vaudois,  an  adjective 
equivalent  to — the  Vaudois. 

(4.)  A  comparison  of  dates  brings  us  to  the  same  result,  show- 
ing us  that  the  Vaudois  heretics,  in  Latin  Vallenses,  or  Valden- 
ses,  were  so  known  and  designated  before  the  time  of  Valdo. 

It  is  a  well-authenticated  fact,  that  it  was  the  archbishop  Jean 
de  Bollesmanis,  or  Bellesmains,  who  anathematized  Valdo  and 
his  disciples ;  and  it  is  certain  that  this  prelate  obtained  the  see 
of  Lyons  in  1181,  the  date  of  the  sitting  at  Verona,  of  the  coun- 
cil which,  under  Lucius  III.,  condemned,  for  the  first  time,  the 
Poor  Men  of  Lyons. 

It  was  not,  then,  earlier  than  the  year  1181  that  the  heretics 
could  be  called  Vaudois,  from  their  supposed  leader,  Valdo.     But 

*  We  suppose  that  it  may  have  been  soused  during  his  lifetime,  but  we  have 
no  proof  of  it. 


VALDENSES  ERRONEOUSLY  DERIVED  FROM  VALDO.  65 

•we  can  cite  two  authors  who  mention  the  Vaudois  prior  to  the 
date  of  1 1 8 1 .  One  of  them  is  Eberard  de  Bethune,  who,  accord- 
ing to  Dupin,  flourished  in  the  year  1160,  and  who,  speaking  of 
heretics,  says,  "  Some  of  them  call  themselves  Vallenses,  because 
they  live  in  a  vale  of  sorrow  or  tears,  and  bring  the  apostles  into 
derision." — Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxiv. 

The  other  writer,  Bernard,  abbot  of  Foncald,  before  quoted, 
thus  expresses  himself  on  the  same  subject : — [  Gieseler's]  Lehr- 
buch  der  Kirchengeschichte,  vol.  ii,  pt. ii,  p.  562, 3d  ed.,  Bonn,  1832. 
"  While  Pope  Lucius,  of  glorious  memory,  presided  over  the  holy 
Roman  Church,  new  heretics  suddenly  raised  their  heads,  who 
received  a  name  that  was  an  omen  of  their  future  lot,  being  called 
Valdenses,  from  a  dark,  dense  valley,  because  they  are  involved 
in  deep  and  thick  shades."  The  author  of  these  lines  having  de- 
dicated the  book  from  which  we  have  taken  them  to  Lucius  III., 
who  was  pope  from  1181  to  1185,  and  mentioning  another  pope 
of  the  same  name,  already  deceased,  of  glorious  memory,  must 
allude  to  events  that  happened  before  1 144,  the  date  of  the  death  of 
Lucius  II.*  The  Valdenses,  or  Yaudois,  were,  therefore,  already 
known  by  this  name  before  1144,  and,  consequently,  long  before 
Peter  Valdo,  since  he  was  not  persecuted  for  heresy  till  after  1181, 
under  Jean  de  Bellesmains,  who  anathematized  him,  and  was  only 
made  archbishop  of  Lyons  at  this  latter  date. — Bernard,  in  Maxi- 
ma Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxv. 

But,  in  the  comparison  of  these  particulars,  we  have  something 
more  than  mere  dates  to  go  upon.  The  testimonies  of  Eberard 
de  Bethune  and  of  Bernard  de  Foncald  demonstrate,  in  another 
way,  the  baselessness  of  the  Roman  Catholic  opinion  which  de- 
rives the  Vaudois  heresy,  and  the  name  of  Vaudois,  from  Valdo ; 
so  that  even  if  it  were  possible  to  throw  a  doubt  on  the  prece- 
ding evidence,  by  arguing  the  uncertainty  of  this  or  the  other 
date,  it  would  not  be  less  certain  that  two  authors  prior  to  Pierre 
Valdo,  (or  contemporary,  or  even  posterior,  if  you  please — it  sig- 
nifies little,)  in  naming  the  sect  of  the  Vaudois,  make  no  mention 
of  Valdo ;  and  so  far  from  deriving  the  name  of  these  sectaries 
from  the  name  of  one  of  their  leaders,  they  assign  it  a  totally  dif- 

*  A.  letter  from  a  bishop  of  Liege  to  the  same  pope  (Lucius  II.)  describes  the 
heretics  as  "  ancient  enemies,"  who  have  spread  themselves  from  Mount  Gui- 
mar  into  France,  and  who  have  a  settled  organization  and  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline ;  but  he  gives  them  no  particular  name.  Martene  and  Durand,  Veterum 
Scriptorum  et  Monumentorum,  t.  i,  col.  777. 


66  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ferent  and  local  origin.  We  say  then  to  our  opponents,  If  you 
admit  that  the  writings  of  Eberard  and  Bernard  are  prior  to  Val- 
do  and  his  labours,  then  you  must  also  admit,  since  these  authors 
name  the  sect  of  the  Vaudois,  that  it  was  prior  to  Valdo,  and 
could  not  derive  its  name  from  his.  But  if  you  maintain  that 
Eberard  and  Bernard  were  contemporaries  of  Valdo,  or  poste- 
rior to  him,  you  must  admit  that  since  they  attribute  another  ori- 
gin to  the  sect  of  the  Yaudois,  and  had  better  means  of  ascer- 
taining the  truth  than  you  have,  the  name  Vaudois  was  not  de- 
rived from  Valdo. 

We  think,  then,  we  have  proved  that  the  name  Vaudois,  given 
by  Roman  Catholic  writers  to  Christians,  who  were  regarded  as 
heretics  in  the  twelfth  century,  was  not  derived  from  the  name 
of  Valdo.  We  rather  believe  that  Pierre,  a  citizen  and  merchant 
of  Lyons,  was  called  Valdo,  on  account  of  the  resemblance  of  his 
labours  to  those  of  the  Vaudois ;  perhaps,  also,  because  he  had 
been  received  into  their  communion,  and  instructed  in  part  by 
them, — a  conjecture  neither  impossible  nor  improbable,  but  which 
we  shall  not  pursue  any  further.* 

(IE.)  Another  etymology  of  the  name  Vaudois  has  been  given. 
Eberard  de  Bethune,  about  the  year  1160,  says : — "  Certain  he- 
retics call  themselves  Vallenses,  (from  vallis,  a  valley,)  because 
they  dwell  in  a  vale  of  sorrow  or  tears ;"  and  Bernard  de.Foncald, 
about  A.  D.  1180,  says,  "  They  were  called  Valdenses,  (from  val- 
lis densa,  a  shady  valley,)  because  they  were  enveloped  in  deep 
and  thick  darkness."  Among  the  moderns,  Leger,  in  his  "  Gene- 
ral History  of  the  Vaudois,"  (Histoire  Generate  des  Vaudois^)  de- 
rives the  name  Vaudois  from  Vaux  or  Val ;  and  an  ancient  pastor 
of  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  within  the  precincts  of  the  Vaudois 
valleys,  has  declared  that,  according  to  tradition,  the  valley  in 
which  he  dwells  was  once  called  Val  Ombreuse,  (shady  valley.) 
Without  absolutely  rejecting  an  etymology  which  is  founded  on 
the  nature  of  the  locality  inhabited  by  the  Vaudois,  and  even  ac- 

*  This  is  the  opinion  of  a  Roman  Catholic  Piedmontese  historian,  who  is  no 
friend  of  the  Vaudois  ;  we  mean  M.  Charles  Botta,  who  thus  expresses  himself 
in  his  remarkable  History  of  Italy : — "  The  Vaudois  were  thus  called,  either  be- 
cause they  dwelt  in  the  valleys,  or  because  Valdo,  a  celebrated  heresiarch  of 
the  twelfth  century,  communicated  his  name  to  them  after  embracing  their  opin- 
ions." The  anonymous  writer,  quoted  by  Martene,  appears  to  have  taken  the 
same  view  as  ourselves,  since  he  calls  the  leader  of  the  sect,  Valdensis— the 
Vaudois. 


ANCIENT  MONUMENTS.  67 

knowledging  that  there  is  an  apparent  foundation  for  it  in  the 
Latin  words  Vallenses  and  Valdenses,  yet,  as  far  as  the  French 
word  Vaudois  is  concerned,  we  are  in  favour  of  the  derivation 
given  in  "  The  Noble  Lesson." 

(HI.)  In  fact,  this  venerable  and  original  monument  of  the  an- 
cient Vaudois  Church — "  The  Noble  Lesson" — assigns  another 
etymology  to  the  name  Vaudois,  the  third  to  which  we  have  re- 
ferred, and  the  last  that  we  have  to  examine.  This  precious  wit- 
ness of  the  Vaudois  faith,  which  is  of  the  date  1100,  expresses  it- 
self, in  verses  368-372,  in  the  following  manner: — 

["  Si  n'i  a  alcun  bon,  que  ame  et  tema  Yeshu  Xrist, 
Que  non  volha  maudire,  ni  jurar,  ni  mentir, 
Ni  avoutrar,  ni  aucir,  ni  penre  de  Pautruy, 
Ni  venjar  se  de  li  seo  enemis 
Ilh  dion  qu'es  Vaudes,  e  degne  de  punir."*] 

Which  we  translate  thus : — 

"  If  there  be  any  one  who  loves  and  fears  Jesus  Christ, 
Who  will  not  curse,  nor  swear,  nor  lie, 
Nor  be  unchastp,  nor  kill,  nor  take  what  is  another's, 
Nor  take  vengeance  on  his  enemies, 
They  say  that  lie  is  a  Vaudes,  and  worthy  of  punishment." 

For  a  long  time,  this  word  Vaudes  was  taken  to  be  only  a  va- 
riation of  Vaudois;  but  it  is  now  acknowledged  to  contain  a 
cruel  reproach,  and  to  be  equivalent  to  an  accusation  of  sorcery. 
The  word  Vaudes  has,  in  fact,  in  the  Romance  language,  the 
meaning  of  sorcerer,  and  has  not  yet  ceased  to  be  used  in  that 
sense  in  the  patois  of  the  canton  de  Vaud. 

This  interpretation  is  also  supported  by  other  proofs.  Rubis, 
quoted  by  Perrin,  says,  in  express  terms :  "  When  they  speak 
of  a  sorcerer,  they  call  him  Vaudes."  We  read  in  Mezeray's 
History  of  France,  in  reference  to  Joan  of  Arc,  then  in  the  power 
of  the  English,  A.  D.  1430,  "  Those  members  of  the  University 
who  remained  at  Paris,  the  base  slaves  of  English  tyranny,  im- 
mediately urged  that  she  might  be  handed  over  to  the  ecclesias- 
tical power,  to  bring  her  to  trial  as  a  Vaudoise — enchantress,  he- 
retic, impostor,  etc."  The  epithet  Vaudoise  is  placed  here  close 
by  that  of  "  enchantress." — Mezeray,  Histoire  de  France,  ii,  1 7. 

*  See  the  original  in  Gieseler,  p.  561  ;  Hallam's  Middle  Ages,  with  variations 
from  Leger,  (p.  28,)  iii,  470  ;  and  in  Morland's  History  of  the  Evangelical  Churches 
of  Piedmont,  fol.,  Lond..  1658,  p.  114. 


68  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  monk  Belvedere,  in  his  report  to  the  illustrious  congre- 
gation for  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  (de  propaganda  Jide,) 
printed  at  Turin  in  1631,  charges  the  Vaudois  with  sorcery,  in 
the  following  passage :  "  The  unfortunate  valleys  of  Lucerna, 
Angrogna,  San  Martino,  and  Perosa,  owing  to  the  vicinity  of 
France  to  Italy,  or  to  the  mountains  which  naturally  render  them 
very  strong,  have  always  been  subject  to  various  plagues,  either 
heretical  locusts,  or  infidel  caterpillars,  blight,  or  sorcery." 

We  see  clearly,  by  this  account  of  a  Romish  inquisitor,  that 
the  valleys  where  the  principal  remains  of  the  Vaudois  Church 
at  present  exist,  were  accused  of  having  been  always  infected 
with  sorcery,  etc. 

In  the  times  of  ignorance,  fanatical  priests  have  accused  of 
secret  intercourse  with  the  spirits  of  darkness,  those  whom  an 
enlightened  faith  or  unbelief  caused  to  withdraw  from  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Churches.  The  Romish  superstition — and  a  cruel 
system  of  persecution  very  often,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  an 
ignorant  people  to  frenzy— designated  as  sorcerers,  men  whose 
lives  were  perfectly  free  from  the  sentiment?:  and  actions  imputed 
to  them.*  Now,  since  it  is  a  certain  fact  lhat  the  Yaudois  have 
often  been  held  up  to  popular  hatred  as  sorcerers,  can  we 
be  surprised,  if  at  a  time  when  superstition  and  ignorance  were 
at  their  height,  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  a  name  so  odious 
was  generally  given  to  them,  and  was  not  withdrawn  ?  How  can 
we  refuse  to  credit  such  a  misapplication  of  the  epithet,  when  we 
read  in  an  anonymous  author,  quoted  by  Martene  and  Durand, 
and  who  wrote  about  the  year  1 447,  "  that  the  Vaudois,  by  means 
of  diabolical  spells,  assembled  suddenly  by  night,  being  speedily 
transported,  in  great  numbers,  to  some  forest  or  lonely  place  ?" — 
Vet.  Script,  et  Monument.,  &c.,  t.  v,  col.  501. 

The  origin  attributed  to  the  name  Vaudois,  in  "  The  Noble 
Lesson,"  appears  then  to  us  to  be  justified  by  facts.  It  would  be  in- 
teresting and  satisfactory,  no  doubt,  to  know  at  what  period  the 
little  faithful  church  received  a  name  equally  unjust  and  odious ; 
but  on  this  point  proofs  are  wanting.  All  we  know  is,  that  it  was 
prior  to  the  twelfth  century,  as  it  is  mentioned  in  "  The  Noble 
Lesson,"  written,  as  the  author  intimates,  in  the  year  1100. 

*  What  Christian  does  not  know  that  the  Son  of  God  was  called  a  Samaritan 
by  the  Jews,  and  that  they  even  said  of  him  that  he  had  a  demon,  and  expelled 
demons  by  the  Prince  of  demons  ? 


TESTIMONIES  OE  HONORIUS  AND  EBERARD.  69 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   VAUDOIS    OF  PIEDMONT   IN   THE  TWELFTH   CENTURY. 

Having  given  an  account  of  the  religious  movement  which  agi- 
tated France  and  other  countries  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries,  and  which,  as  we  have  seen,  probably  took  its  rise  in 
the  Alps  situated  between  France  and  Italy,  we  must  return  to 
the  Vaudois  valleys,  to  resume  the  thread  of  their  particular  his- 
tory, to  recount  their  traditions,  and  to  explain  the  state  of  their 
church. 

Let  us  first  notice  some  historical  facts.  Without  going  back 
to  the  documents  cited  in  chapters  HI.  and  IV.,  which  attest  the 
existence  of  a  so-called  heretical  church  in  the  bosom  of  the  Alps, 
from  the  fourth  century,  we  shall  only  remind  the  reader  that 
at  the  commencement  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  long  before 
Valdo's  time,  the  Chronicle  of  Saint  Thron,  in  Belgium,  written 
between  1 108  and  1 1 36,  by  the  abbot  Radulph,  mentions  a  region 
of  the  Alps  as  polluted  by  an  inveterate  heresy ;  and  that  Bruno 
d'Asti,  about  the  year  1120,  speaks  of  the  Vaudois,  though  not 
designating  them,  it  is  true,  by  this  name,  but  with  sufficient  de- 
tails, particularly  in  what  he  says  of  their  traditions,  to  enable  us 
to  recognize  them  without  difficulty. 

To  these  testimonies,  which  are  given  at  length  in  chapter  IV., 
we  add  the  following. 

Honorius,  a  priest  of  Autun,  at  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth 
century,  speaks  of  certain  heretics,  whom  he  calls  Montani,  or 
Mountaineers,  and  describes  in  these  few  words :  "  The  Moun- 
taineer heretics  are  thus  named  from  the  mountains.  In  the 
times  of  persecution  they  concealed  themselves  in  the  mountains, 
and  separated  from  the  body  of  the  Church." 

Eberard  de  Bethune,  about  the  year  1160,  expresses  himself 
in  terms  but  slightly  different  on  the  same  subject :  "  They  are 
called,"  he  says,  "  Mountaineers ;  because,  in  a  time  of  persecu- 
tion, they  concealed  themselves  in  the  mountains,  and  for  this 
reason  they  erred  in  relation  to  the  Catholic  faith." 

We  may  further  add,  that  the  name  Montani  was  given  to  a 
people  of  Liguria,  established  in  the  Alps,  adjacent  to  the  Va- 


70  HISTORY  0£  THE  VAUDOIS. 

gienni,  (at  present  the  inhabitants  of  the  marquisate  of  Saluzzo,) 
and  bordering  on  the  Vaudois  valleys.* 

And  we  need  not  be  astonished  that  the  so-called  Vaudois 
heresy  should  have  extended  more  to  the  south  in  the  mountains 
of  Liguria,  just  as  we  have  seen,  in  chapter  IV.,  that  it  extended 
more  to  the  east  in  Biella  and  Novarra ;  for  nothing  is  more  cer- 
tain. Let  our  readers  only  call  to  mind  what  we  have  said  of 
its  conquests  in  Astesan,  in  the  tenth  century.  We  shall  else- 
where have  an  opportunity  of  proving,  by  fresh  details,  this  ex- 
tension of  the  Vaudois  Church  beyond  the  limits  within  which 
it  is  confined  at  the  present  day. 

An  ancient  writer,  Gioffredo,  informs  us  that  the  Vaudois 
heresy,  which  he  erroneously  supposes  to  have  proceeded  from 
France,  had  already  extended,  in  the  year  1198,  not  only  into 
the  valleys  of  Angrogna,  Lucerna,  and  San  Martino,  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Turin,  but  also  into  the  plain. 

Should  it  appear  surprising  that  the  Vaudois  sect,  or,  rather, 
the  remains  of  the  faithful  Church,  could  maintain  itself  so  long 
without  severe  persecution,  in  the  ancient  diocese  of  Claude  of 
Turin  and  elsewhere,  in  spite  of  the  oppressive  tendency  of  the 
Romish  Church,  we  must  repeat  what  we  have  said  before,  in 
chapter  IV.,  of  the  political  agitations  and  contests  in  the  tenth 
and  eleventh  centuries,!  during  which  the  attention  of  the  heads 
of  the  Romish  Church  were  turned  away  from  the  scattered  re- 
mains of  the  faithful  Church,  preoccupied  as  they  were  with 
their  worldly  interests,  and  with  the  dangers  and  advantages  of 
their  position  as  secular  princes. 

One  general  cause  which  also  favoured  the  preservation  of 
various  small  companies  of  the  faithful  Church,  was  the  inherent 
vital  power  of  Christian  principle,  which  is  such  that  it  cannot 
be  altered  or  perverted,  wherever  it  has  spread  its  roots,  except 
by  a  very  slow  process. 

Other  special  causes  were  combined  with  this  general  and 

*  For  Honorius,  see  Maxima  Bibloth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xx,  col.  1039 ;  for  Eberard,  t. 
xxiv,  cols.  1575-1577  ;  for  Montani,  see  Geographia  Antiqua  Cellarii,  t.  i,  p.  518; 
or  Plinii  Geog.,  cap.  xx. 

t  The  agitations  and  contests  were  carried  to  the  greatest  lengths  in  Pied- 
mont and  Lombardy,  where,  to  the  elements  of  discord  existing  among  innu- 
merable petty  sovereignties,were  joined  the  efforts  of  a  number  of  free  cities, 
which  aimed  at  repelling  these  vexations  for  their  own  preservation. 


PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  VALLEYS.  71 

powerful  one.  Thus,  in  the  first  place,  the  innovations  adopted 
in  the  Popish  Church,  in  regard  to  images,  the  Mass,  the  real 
presence,  etc.,  took  a  considerable  time  to  spread  themselves,  as 
history  shows.  In  the  second  place,  for  a  long  time  nothing  more 
was  attempted  than  insensibly  to  undermine  the  ancient  doc- 
trines, to  apologize  for  novelties,  and  to  refute  those  who  attacked 
the  innovations.  In  the  third  place,  for  a  long  time  it  was 
thought  sufficient  to  excommunicate  and  anathematize  heretics, 
or  those  who  were  thought  to  be  such.  Of  this  the  councils 
furnish  numerous  examples.  In  course  of  time  they  proceeded 
to  much  greater  lengths ;  they  shut  up  in  cloisters  and  subjected 
to  severe  penance  those  whom  they  deemed  opponents.  But  it 
was  hardly  till  after  the  power  of  the  popes  had  reached  its 
height,  in  the  time  of  Gregory  VII.,  (Hildebrand,)  that  here  and 
there  a  few  persons  of  note,  holding  opposite  opinions,  perished 
by  a  violent  death,  either  by  fire  or  sword.  But  systematic  per- 
secutions, such  as  the  crusades,  and  the  horrible  inquisition,  are 
not  of  earlier  date  than  Innocent  III.* 

It  is,  then,  easy  to  understand  how  fidelity  and  truth  could  be 
so  long  maintained,  especially  where  circumstances  were  favour- 
able. 

It  will  be  proper  here  to  notice  a  circumstance  of  high  im- 
portance, which  serves  forcibly  to  explain  the  fact  of  the  pre- 
servation of  evangelical  truth,  from  the  time  of  Claude  of  Turin, 
in  the  territory  which  is  still  occupied  by  the  Vaudois ;  it  is  this, 
that  in  the  most  remote  feudal  times  these  valleys  were  governed 
by  a  powerful  lord,  who  held  his  domains  directly  of  the  empire, 
and  was  himself  imbued  with  Vaudois  doctrines.  This  very  im- 
portant fact  is  recorded  in  the  work  we  have  already  cited  of  a 
[Roman]  Catholic  author,  who  was  better  qualified  than  any 
other  person  to  ascertain  its  truth — the  Marquis  Costa  de  Beaure- 
gard. These  are  his  words:  "Besides  the  earldoms  (comtes) 
which  sprang  from  the  great  marquisates,  we  cannot  doubt  that 
there  were  others  of  very  ancient  date,  created  by  the  emperors 
in  favour  of  the  principal  barons  of  this  country,  and  that  they 

*  This  remark  may  enable  our  readers  to  understand  how,  in  proportion  as 
the  power  of  Rome,  founded  on  falsehood  by  the  spirit  of  falsehood,  was  able 
to  maintain  itself,  it  indulged  in  that  excess  of  tyranny  and  barbarous  cruelty, 
by  which  so  much  innocent  blood  was  spilt  from  the  time  of  Innocent  III.  to 
Innocent  XL,  under  whom  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  and  the  dis- 
persion of  the  Vaudois  took  place,  in  1685  and  1686. 


72  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

had  only  the  simple  titles  of  counts  granted  to  some  lords  who 
held  them  immediately  of  the  emperor.  Such  were  the  counts 
of  Castellamonte,  Blandra,  Lucerna,  and  Piossasque,  to  whom 
the  Piedmontese  history  gives  this  qualification,  from  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries." 

According  to  this  evidence,  the  counts  of  Lucerna,  lords  of  the 
valleys,*  held  immediately  of  the  empire,  and  were,  consequently, 
independent  of  every  neighbouring  prince ;  and  so  little  was 
their  power  inferior  to  that  of  the  counts  and  marquises  in  the 
vicinity,  that  in  their  valleys,  which  their  natural  position  ren- 
dered easy  to  defend,  they  could  protect  their  vassals  against 
every  foreign  invasion.  The  same  author  adds :  "  We  do  not  see, 
however,  that  the  princes  of  Achate,  who  lived  so  near  them, 
(the  Vaudois,)  persecuted  them.  It  is  even  believed  that  some 
of  the  counts  of  Lucerna,  immediate  vassals  of  the  empire,  and 
principal  lords  of  these  valleys,  at  a  very  ancient  period,  shared 
their  belief.f 

In  the  absence  of  other  historical  documents,:}:  the  armorial 
bearings  of  the  house  of  Lucerna  are  sufficient,  it  appears  to  us, 
to  prove  the  fact  just  stated.  They  are  symbolical ;  they  present 
a  flambeau  (lucerna)  emitting  a  brilliant  light  in  the  midst  of 
darkness.  The  surrounding  device  is  explanatory — Lux  lucet 
in  tenebris,  "  The  light  shineth  in  darkness."  These  armorial 
bearings  and  this  device,  which  the  Vaudois  of  the  valleys,  even 
to  this  day,  love  to  regard  as  theirs,  attest,  by  their  symbolical 
signification,  the  antiquity  of  evangelical  truth  in  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont.  They  attest  that  from  the  time  when  the  name  of 
Lucerna  was  given  to  the  most  considerable  part  of  these  valleys, 
and  to  its  then  count,  that  is,  from  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  the  Marquis  Costa,  a  long  time  be- 
fore Valdo,  the  light  of  the  gospel  shone  in  darkness,  in  the 
midst  of  the  Romish  superstitions  which  had  spread  over  almost 
all  the  kingdoms  of  the  west. 

*  Or,  at  least,  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna. 

t  Let  it  be  recollected  that  this  was  also  the  case  with  the  counts  of  Montfort 
in  Astesan.    See  Memoires  Historiques,  etc.,  t.  i,  p.  64,  t.  ii,  p.  51. 

%  One  document,  which  certainly  exists,  would  interest  the  Vaudois  in  more 
than  one  respect,  namely,  the  treaty  by  which  the  counts  of  Lucerna  and  the 
marquis  of  Angrogna  submitted  to  the  house  of  Savoy.  The  conditions  of  this 
deed  were  certainly  favourable  to  the  Vaudois.  These  were  the  franchises  and 
religious  liberties  which  they  have  always  claimed,  but,  for  the  most  part,  in 
vain. 


APPEAL  TO  TRADITION.  73 

We  believe,  then,  that  we  have  proved,  as  far  as  the  absence 
of  more  precise  documents  will  permit,  that  the  Vaudois  of 
Piedmont  are  not  a  sect  which  owes  its  origin  to  Valdo,  an  ac- 
cidental phenomenon  of  the  twelfth  century,  an  isolated  religious 
movement,  but  a  branch  of  the  primitive  Church,  preserved  by 
a  striking  Divine  intervention,  flourishing  apart  in  the  midst  of 
the  rubbish  which  had  covered  the  trunk  that  once  nourished  it, 
and  had  crushed  and  withered  all  the  other  branches.  The 
Church  of  the  valleys  was  a  young  infant,  that  had  eseaped, 
unperceived,  from  the  disaster  which  deprived  its  parent  of  life, 
and  had  lived  concealed  in  desert  places,  among  the  valleys  and 
rocks,  till  the  day  when  it  involuntarily  attracted  attention; 
while  its  sisters,  magnificently  attired,  forgot,  in  slavery  and  cor- 
ruption, the  memory  of  their  pious  and  faithful  mother ;  and,  by 
their  levity  and  dissoluteness,  forfeited  the  incorruptible  inherit- 
ance which  the  Lord  intended  to  have  secured  to  them  by  his 
atoning  death. 

For  further  illustration  of  the  subject,  we  proceed  to  report 
the  traditions  of  the  Vaudois  Church. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TRADITIONS  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  WHICH  ATTEST  THEIR  ANTIQUITY. 

The  Vaudois  have  a  twofold  tradition  respecting  their  origin : 
one,  more  general ;  the  other,  more  in  detail ;  and  both  very 
exact. 

In  all  the  persecutions  they  have  passed  through,  from  the 
fifteenth  century  and  later,  in  the  appeals  they  have  made  at 
different  times  to  their  sovereign,  the  Vaudois  have  always,  as 
formerly,  maintained  that  the  religion  they  followed  had  been 
preserved  from  father  to  son,  and  from  generation  to  generation, 
from  time  immemorial :  Da  ogni  tempo,  e  da  tempo  immemoriale, 
("  from  all  time,  and  from  time  immemorial,")  is  the  language 
of  their  appeals. 

Moreover,  not  only  the  Vaudois  of  Piedmont,  but  all  those 
who  have  laid  claim  to  the  name,  in  all  places,  have  constantly 
maintained  that  they  received  their  religious  belief  from  Leon, 

4 


74  HISTOKY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

an  associate  and  contemporary  of  Sylvester,  bishop  of  Rome, 
under  the  emperor  Constantine  the  Great. 

The  inquisitor  Rainier  Sacco,  a  violent  opponent  of  the 
Vaudois  Cathari,  among  whom  he  had  lived  some  years  before 
entering  the  order  of  preaching  friars  or  dominicans,  and  who 
wrote  about  the  year  1250,  not  only  speaks  of  this  tradition,  but 
gives  many  particulars  besides,  respecting  the  sect  of  the  Leonists. 
After  saying  that  of  the  seventy  sects  that  were  formed  without 
the  Church,  there  only  remained  four,  of  which  that  of  the 
Leonists  was  one,  he  adds : — "  Of  all  the  sects  that  exist  or  have 
existed,  there  never  has  been  one  so  pernicious  to  the  Church 
as  that  of  the  Leonists ;  and  that  for  three  reasons  :  first,  because 
it  is  the  most  ancient,  since,  as  some  assert,  it  has  been  preserved 
from  the  time  of  Sylvester — according  to  others,  from  the  days 
of  the  apostles ;  secondly,  it  is  the  most  widely  spread — in  fact, 
there  is  hardly  a  country  where  it  is  not  to  be  found ;  thirdly, 
while  all  other  sects  strike  with  horror  those  who  hear  them,  on 
account  of  their  awful  blasphemies  against  God,  this  of  the 
Leonists  manifests  a  great  appearance  of  piety,  inasmuch  as  its 
members  live  justly  before  men,  have  true  faith  in  God,  and  be- 
lieve all  the  articles  of  the  creed. — Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t. 
xxv,  caps,  v  and  vi,  p.  264,  etc. 

Notwithstanding  the  intentional  or  involuntary  confusion  of 
Rainier  in  designating  sects,  confounding  what  he  ought  to 
separate,  and  separating  what  he  ought  to  unite,  and  although, 
in  this  particular  case,  he  appears  to  confound  the  Leonists  with 
the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  in  what  he 
says  about  the  Leonists,  in  the  passage  just  quoted,  he  had  in 
view,  not  the  disciples  of  Valdo,  or  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  (since 
he  assigns  to  the  Leonists  an  origin  prior  to  these  last  by  several 
centuries,)  but  the  Vaudois,  whom  the  [Roman]  Catholics  of  his 
time  already  affected  to  confound  with  the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons. 
Everything,  in  fact,  that  he  says  of  the  Leonists  perfectly  cor- 
responds with  what  we  know  of  the  history  and  tradition  of  the 
Vaudois,  and  with  what  we  shall  exhibit  in  the  sequel  of  their 
doctrine  and  piety. 

The  etymology  of  the  name  Leonists  is  altogether  favourable 
to  our  views ;  we  cannot  perceive  in  it  a  derivative  from  Lyons, 
while  it  seems  perfectly  natural  to  derive  it  from  Leon,  with 
whom  the  Vaudois  connect  their  religious  opinions. 


WRITINGS  OF  THE  VAUDOIS.  75 

Lastly,  the  tradition  which  we  have  reported  of  the  origin  of 
the  Vaudois,  is  confirmed  by  an  archbishop  of  Turin,  Claude  de 
Seyssel,  who  from  1517  to  1520  occupied  the  diocese  in  which 
the  Vaudois  valleys  are  situated,  and  who  had  the  means  of  ac- 
quiring an  exact  knowledge  of  their  opinions.  But  as  he  only 
repeats  what  is  known  to  us,  and  treats  it  as  a  fable  or  a  tale, 
we  shall  spare  our  readers  the  quotation  of  the  passage. — R.  P. 
Claudii  Seysselii,  archiep.  Taurin.,  adversus  errores  et  sectam 
Valdensium  Tractatus,  c.  i. 

This  tradition  has  also  been  preserved  in  the  evangelical 
churches,  the  descendants  of  those  of  the  valleys ;  in  Bohemia 
and  Moravia,  for  instance.* 

But  we  shall  not  dwell  longer  on  this  point :  it  is  enough  that 
we  have  well  established  its  certainty.  The  value  of  such  a  tra- 
dition, to  which  the  writings  of  the  Vaudois  allude,f  as  a  proof 
in  favour  of  the  antiquity  of  their  church,  will  appear  indis- 
putable to  every  honest  and  intelligent  person. 


CHAPTER  X. 

WRITINGS    OF    THE    VAUDOIS. 

A  striking  testimony  to  the  antiquity  of  the  Vaudois  Church 
exists  in  the  original  manuscripts  which  it  possesses  from  the 
year  1100  to  1230 ;  the  greater  part  of  them  fifty  years  prior  to 
the  religious  manifestation  in  which  Pierre  Valdo  took  the  lead. 
These  works,  in  verse  and  prose,  in  the  Romance  or  Vaudois 
language,  form  the  stock  of  a  great  number  of  similar  produc- 
tions, animated  with  the  same  spirit,  written  in  the  same  dialect, 
or  in  Latin,  at  different  periods,  but  almost  all  prior  to  the  Re- 
formation of  the  sixteenth  century. 

To  Leger,  the  historian  and  Vaudois  pastor,  we  are  indebted 
for  the  preservation  of  these  precious  memorials  of  the  piety  and 
ancient  origin  of  the  Vaudois  Church.     Foreseeing,  probably, 

*  Such  a  tradition  is  reported  in  the  work,  entitled  Histoire  des  Persecutions 
de  PEglise  de  Boheme,  de  894  a  1632— (History  of  the  Persecutions  of  the  Church 
of  Bohemia,  from  894  to  1632). 

t  An  allusion  is  made,  amongst  others,  to  this  tradition,  in  the  409th  verse 
of  "  The  Noble  Lesson,"  in  this  expression,  "All  the  popes  from  Sylvester  to 
this  one  " 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  storm  that  was  rising  against  it,  and  which,  after  giving  por- 
tentous tokens  of  its  approach  during  his  life,  terminated  in  the 
lamentable  catastrophe  of  1686,  Leger  collected  the  writings  of 
the  Vaudois  and  sent  them,  in  1658,  to  Sir  Samuel  Morland,  the 
English  ambassador  at  the  court  of  Turin,  who  brought  them  to 
England,  and  deposited  them  in  the  library  of  the  university  of 
Cambridge.  Leger  made  a  second  collection,  but  smaller,  which 
he  deposited  himself  in  the  library  of  Geneva.* 

Above  forty  years  before,  about  the  year  1602,  a  number  of 
Vaudois  writings  had  already  been  sent  to  P.  Perrin,  by  direc- 
tion of  a  synod  held  in  the  valleys ;  they  had  been  collected 
particularly  in  the  valley  of  Pragela.  This  author  has  preserved 
a  list  of  those  that  were  in  his  possession-! 

The  general  character  of  these  writings  is  doctrinal  and  prac- 
tical ;  some  are  controversial.  Their  doctrines  are  expounded  in 
a  very  simple  manner.  We  find  there  neither  theological  for- 
mulas nor  systematic  exposition,  unless  in  the  Catechism  and 
Confession  of  Faith.  Revealed  truths  are  generally  announced 
in  their  Scriptural  form.  In  such  a  frequent  and  faithful  use  of 
passages  of  Holy  Scripture,  the  Vaudois  barbes,  or  pastors, 
showed  great  wisdom.  Although  written  at  a  period  of  general 
darkness,  we  can  detect  nothing  exaggerated,  nothing  supersti- 
tious, in  these  documents  of  the  religious  life  of  the  Vaudois. 
The  moderation  and  propriety  of  their  language,  even  on  contro- 
verted topics,  which  are  frequently  touched  on,  never  leaves 
them,  and  is  more  striking,  since  these  qualities  are  extremely 
rare  among  their  adversaries.  Their  spirit  is  a  truly  Christian 
spirit. 

It  is  also  to  be  observed  in  the  ancient  writings  of  the  Vaudois, 


*  A  catalogue  of  both  is  given  in  an  appendix  to  the  original  of  this  work. 

t  This  list  is  also  in  the  same  appendix.  Leger,  part  i,  p.  74 :  Vignaux,  a 
pastor  who  exercised  his  ministry  in  the  valleys  for  forty  years,  from  1539,  col- 
lected, according  to  Perrin,  many  manuscripts  in  his  time.  "  It  is  to  this  good 
servant  of  God,"  says  Perrin,  "that  we  are  indebted  for  the  collection  of  these 
ancient  works  of  the  Vaudois  ;  for  he  gathered  as  many  as  he  could  find,  and 
carefully  preserved  them.  At  the  close  of  his  life,  he  gave  to  certain  individuals 
the  memoirs  he  had  prepared  respecting  the  Vaudois,  and  all  the  old  books  he 
had  got  together  in  the  valleys."  Vignaux  himself  says,  "  We  have  at  hand 
some  ancient  books  of  the  Vaudois,  containing  catechisms  and  sermons  written 
in  the  vulgar  tongue,  which  contains  nothing  that  makes  for  the  pope  or  popery. 
It  is  wonderful  how  they  could  see  so  clearly,  in  a  time  when  the  darkness  was 
more  intense  than  that  of  Egypt."— Perrin,  Geneva,  1619. 


CHARACTER  OF  THE   VAUDOIS  WRITINGS.  77 

that  doctrine,  so  far  from  being  separated  from  morality,  gives  it 
constant  support.  Faith  and  piety,  the  contemplation  of  divine 
truths,  and  a  life  of  obedience  and  devotedness  to  the  Saviour, 
are  invariably  united  in  their  literary  productions.  They  treat 
all  Christian  subjects  with  gravity  and  a  practical  aim;  the 
natural  corruption  and  misery  of  man,  the  remission  of  sins  by 
the  work  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  fear  and  love  of  God,  charity  and 
brotherly  love,  forgiveness  and  endurance  of  injuries,  watchful- 
ness and  prayer,  humility,  contempt  of  the  world,  detachment 
of  the  affections  from  earthly  objects,  patience,  resignation  under 
the  evils  of  life,  the  duties  of  pastors  and  spiritual  guides,*  of 
husbands  and  wives,  of  parents  and  children.  There  must  have 
been  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  a  development  of  vital 
piety  and  Christian  intelligence,  in  order  to  reach  so  high  a 
standard  of  truth  and  morals  at  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century. 

Some  of  the  Vaudois  treatises  are  altogether  polemical.  The 
critical  position  of  these  evangelical  Christians,  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  the  Romish  Church,  rendered  controversy  unavoidable. 
They  were  obliged  to  defend  their  faith  and  to  explain  their 
doctrines.  Besides  their  Confession  of  Faith  and  their  Cate- 
chism, the  Vaudois  barbes  composed  polemical  works  on  Anti- 
christ, imaginary  purgatory,  true  purgatory,  the  invocation  of 
saints,  etc. 

Among  the  original  works  of  the  ancient  Vaudois,  we  must 
reckon  a  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  Romance  language. 
The  numerous  quotations  made  from  it  in  "  The  Noble  Lesson/' 
in  the  "  Antichrist,"  and  other  treatises  of  that  period,  are  proofs 
of  it.  But  there  is  still  more  positive  proof:  Leger  declares  that 
he  possessed  it.  In  the  library  at  Cambridge,  manuscripts  of  the 
books  of  the  Bible,  or  of  detached  chapters,  are  deposited ;  and 
the  library  at  Grenoble  boasts  of  having  a  complete  manuscript 
of  the  New  Testament  in  the  same  dialect :  there  also  exists  a 
copy  at  Zurich.  Mapee  also  informs  us,  that  at  the  Romish 
council,  held  in  1179,  under  Pope  Alexander  III.,  certain  Vau- 
dois presented  to  that  pontiff  a  volume  written  in  the  old  French 
(Gauloise)  language,  (then  the  Romance,)  which  contained  the 
text  of  the  Psalms  and  several  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, with  a  commentary. —  Usher,  p.  286. 

*  They  had  and  still  have  elders  in  every  division  of  the  parishes,  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  to  preserve  order  and  to  afford  consolation  to  the  afflicted. 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  important  question  of  the  authenticity  of  these  writings 
■will  occupy  our  attention  for  a  short  time.  It  divides  itself  into 
two  principal  points — their  origin  and  their  date. 

Everything  goes  to  prove  the  Vaudois  origin  of  these  writings. 
It  was  among  the  Vaudois,  and  nowhere  else,  that  they  were 
preserved  and  afterward  collected.  From  whom  did  they  re- 
ceive them,  and  what  motive  could  they  have  for  adopting  the 
works  of  foreigners?  These  mountaineers  were' not  devoted  to 
literature.  The  writings  they  possessed  and  preserved  could 
only  be  their  own.  These  books  expressed  nothing,  more  or 
less,  than  the  belief  and  pious  intentions  of  the  Yaudois  believers 
through  all  ages. 

The  greater  part  of  these  writings  is  in  the  Vaudois  language, 
a  particular  dialect  of  the  Romance,  as  Eaynouard  observes, 
who  studied  it  carefully  and  profoundly.  But  this  Romance 
language,  in  the  Vaudois  dialect,  continued  to  the  Reformation 
the  constant  language  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  valleys,  the  only 
one  used  in  their  religious  services ;  and  it  is  still  employed,  in  the 
present  day,  as  a  patois  by  the  common  people  *  We  do  not 
know  that  the  Vaudois  Romance  dialect  has  been  spoken  any- 
where else.  The  writings,  therefore,  that  have  been  collected 
among  the  Vaudois,  and  in  their  dialect,  can  only  be  theirs. 

Lastly,  it  is  a  fact  attested  by  history,  that  the  ancient  Vaudois 
wrote  books.  An  anonymous  author  of  the  thirteenth  century 
says  positively,  in  speaking  of  the  Vaudois,  "  They  have  invented 
certain  verses,  (measures,)  which  they  call  the  thirty  degrees  of 
St.  Augustine,  in  which  they  teach,  in  some  degree,  the  practice 
of  virtue  and  to  avoid  vice,  and  have  adroitly  introduced  their 
rites  and  heresies,  that  they  may  be  learned  more  readily  and 
impressed  more  strongly  on  the  memory,  as  we  recommend  for 
the  use  of  the  laity  the  creed  and  the  Lord's  prayer ;  they  have 
also  invented  other  attractive  writings  (beaux  ecrits)  with  the 
same  design."f 

It  is  also  stated,  as  we  have  seen,  by  Peter  the  Venerable, 
abbot  of  Clugny,  that  Henry,  the  false  hermit,  as  he  was  called, 

*  Particularly  in  retired  places,  where  the  inhabitants  have  less  intercourse 
with  the  Piedmontese. 

tD.  Martene,  Thesaurus  Novus  Anecdotorum,  t.  v,  autore  anonymo,  Trac- 
tatus  de  Haeresi  Pauperum  de  Lugduno.  The  close  of  the  article  entitled,  De 
Studio  Pervertendi. 


RAYNOUARD.  79 

who,  as  we  think,  was  very  probably  a  Vaudois,  wrote  a  book 
containing  his  opinions.  But,  as  he  has  not  given  any  further 
description  of  it,  we  have  no  means  of  judging  whether  this  work 
was  one  of  those  in  the  catalogue,  in  the  appendix  before  men- 
tioned. But  from  what  Peter  the  Venerable  has  said,  we  may, 
at  least,  infer  that,  in  his  time,  certain  writings,  called  heretical, 
were  extant ;  that  is,  at  the  commencement  of  the  twelfth  century.* 

The  second  question  to  be  discussed,  in  order  to  demonstrate 
the  authenticity  of  the  writings  of  the  Vaudois,  relates  to  the 
dates  they  bear.  It  may  be  put  in  this  form — Are  the  writings 
of  the  Vaudois  of  the  dates  they  profess  to  be  ?  Do  their  super- 
scription and  composition  agree  ? 

Among  the  ancient  writings  of  the  Vaudois,  five  only  have  dates 
affixed  to  them.  "  The  Noble  Lesson"  and  the  Catechism  bear 
date  A.  D.  1100  ;f  the  treatise  on  Antichrist  and  the  Confession 
of  Faith  have  that  of  1 1 20 ;  and  the  Treatise  on  Purgatory  that 
of  the  year  1126.  Many  moral  poems,  which  Raynouard  assigns 
to  the  epoch  of  "  The  Noble  Lesson,"  are  without  date,  as  well 
as  the  other  manuscripts,  one  only  excepted,  which  bears  the 
date  of  1230. 

The  date  of  the  Romance  translation  of  the  Bible  must  neces- 
sarily be  earlier  than  that  of  all  the  other  Vaudois  writings,  be- 
cause there  are  scarcely  any  which  do  not  contain  passages  from  it. 

This  circumstance,  that  five  or  six  Vaudois  manuscripts  only 
have  dates,  is  particularly  favourable  to  their  authenticity.  If 
they  had  been  affixed  after  the  appearance  of  the  writings,  and 
without  foundation,  we  do  not  see  why  the  author  of  such  a  fraud 
should  not  have  made  use  of  it  in  reference  to  a  greater  number, 
or  even  to  all. 

We  moreover  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  Raynouard,  in  favour 
of  the  correctness  of  these  dates.  It  is  known  that  this  modern 
writer  has  applied  himself  specially  to  the  study  of  the  Romance 
language,  of  which  the  Vaudois  is  a  particular  dialect,  not  differ- 
ing from  the  rest,  as,  for  example,  the  Provencal,  excepting  in 
certain  terminations  and  some  other  slight  peculiarities.  Ray. 
nouard  has  proved  the  antiquity  of  this  Romance  language.     He 

*  Petri  Vener.  Epist.,  quoted  above.     [See  pp.  52,  53.] 

t  "  The  Noble  Lesson"  contains  its  date  in  the  following  words,  translated 
literally  from  the  original :— "  Eleven  hundred  years  are  now  entirely  past,  since 
the  hour  was  written,"  (v,  6.)  See  the  appendix.  [Hallam's  History  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  iii,  467.] 


80  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

has  demonstrated  its  existence  from  the  time  of  Charlemagne,  in 
most  of  the  countries  that  submitted  to  this  prince,  from  the  Rhine 
to  Rome  He  has  explained  its  formation,  and  composed  a  gram- 
mar of  it,  with  numerous  examples.  Now,  among  these  we  have 
remarked  a  great  number  which  are  taken  from  the  writings  of 
the  Vaudois,  either  their  poetical  pieces,  or  their  translation  of 
the  New  Testament.*  Thus  the  antiquity  of  the  writings  from 
which  these  examples  are  taken  is  demonstrated.  The  author, 
it  is  true,  does  not  express  himself  categorically,  excepting  on 
the  date  of  "  The  Noble  Lesson ;"  but  we  may  judge,  by  the 
place  he  assigns  in  his  work  to  the  principal  Vaudois  documents, 
that  he  admitted  the  correctness  of  the  dates  they  bear,  and  that 
he  also  considered  many  of  their  other  writings  to  be  very  an- 
cient; for,  in  his  Introduction  on  the  Troubadours,  after  the 
pieces  collected  under  the  title  of  "  Actes  et  Titres,"  (Acts  and 
Titles,)  from  A.  D.  960  and  the  following  years,  and  which  come 
down  to  1080,  he  points  out  the  Vaudois  poetry,  as  forming  a 
continuation  of  them  in  the  order  of  time :  hence  we  are  autho- 
rized to  believe  that  he  judged  not  only  those  writings  in  verse 
of  the  Vaudois,  which  bear  the  date  of  the  twelfth  century,  but 
also  many  others  of  their  poetical  pieces,  to  be  very  little  later 
than  the  year  1080. 

He  goes  on  to  say,  "  The  poem  of  the  '  Nobla  Leyczon'  bears 
the  date  of  the  year  1100.  The  sect  of  the  Vaudois  is,  then, 
mnch  more  ancient  than  has  been  generally  believed."  And  a 
little  after :  "  The  date  of  the  year  1100,  which  we  find  given  in 
this  poem,  merits  all  confidence.  Persons  who  read  it  with  at- 
tention will  perceive  that  the  manuscript  has  not  been  interpo- 
lated, etc  Lastly,  the  very  style  of  the  work,  the  form  of  the 
versification,  the  agreement  of  the  two  manuscripts,  (that  of 
Cambridge  and  that  of  Geneva,)  and  the  kind  of  various  readings 
they  present,  all  unite  in  favour  of  the  authenticity  of  this  poeti- 
cal composition." 

If  Raynouard,  on  account  of  the  main  object  he  had  in  view? 
has  expressed  himself  more  explicitly  about  the  date  of  the  Vau- 
dois poems,  yet  he  has  equally  acknowledged  the  antiquity  of 
their  prose  writings  : — "  The  treatise  on  Antichrist,"  he  says, 
"bears  the  date  of  the  year  1120." 

Thus  we  see  that  this  distinguished  writer,  without  prejudice 
*  These  examples  will  be  found,  t.  i,  pp.  112,  113. 


"  THE  NOBLE  LESSON."  81 

or  any  interested  motive,  and  having  only  in  view  the  Romance 
language,  after  a  long  and  profound  study  of  the  ancient  reli- 
gious documents  of  the  Vaudois,  pronounces  them  authentic,  and 
confirms  the  correctness  of  their  dates.  Such  a  decision  appears 
to  us  to  be  of  very  great  weight. 

If  the  authority  of  Raynouard  puts  the  correctness  of  the  date 
of  the  Vaudois  poems  beyond  a  doubt,  we  are  able  in  our  turn 
to  bring  forward,  as  in  the  case  of  "  The  Noble  Lesson,"  inter- 
nal evidence  of  the  authentic  date  of  one  of  the  prose  writings, 
that,  namely,  on  Antichrist  ;  it  is  this : — 

Having  defined  Antichrist,  the  author  continues, — "  Such  is 
the  man :  accomplished  in  sin,  he  exalts  himself  above  all  that  is 
called  God,  and  that  is  worshipped ;  he  is  opposed  to  all  truth, 
and  is  seated  in  the  temple  of  God,  that  is,  in  the  Church, 
making  himself  to  be  God ;  he  comes  with  all  sorts  of  seductions 
for  those  that  perish.  And  since  this  rebel  has  already  reached 
his  perfect  state,  we  are  no  longer  to  wait  for  him,  (or  to  seek 
out  who  he  is,)  for  by  God's  permission  he  has  reached  old  age, 
since  he  already  shows  signs  of  decrepitude.  In  fact,  his  power 
and  authority  are  diminished,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  destroys  this 
rebel  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth,  by  means  of  many  men  of  good 
will,  and  causes  a  power  to  interfere  which  is  opposed  to  him  and 
to  his  adherents ;  he  overthrows  the  places  in  which  he  dwells, 
and  his  possessions,  and  causes  division  in  that  city  of  Babylon, 
where  each  successive  generation  has  acquired  a  fresh  vigour  of 
maliciousness." 

The  Antichrist  of  the  Vaudois  treatise  is  the  Romish  religious 
system,  its  agents  and  its  ritual,  the  pope,  and  the  idolatry  of 
which  he  is  the  centre.  History  shows  that  in  the  year  1 120,  the 
time  when  this  work  was  composed,  the  Romish  system  had  at- 
tained its  height,  and  was  beginning  to  decline,  for  a  while  at 
least.  In  the  person  of  Gregory  VII. — the  ancient  monk,  Hil- 
debrand — the  papacy  attained  its  greatest  power,  and  displayed 
the  most  audacious  pretensions.  It  was  towards  the  close  of  the 
eleventh  century,  that  is,  on  the  25th  of  January,  1077,  that  the 
temporal  power  humbled  itself  before  the  usurped  authority  of 
the  pretended  successor  of  St.  Peter,  when  the  unfortunate  em- 
peror, Henry  IV.,  for  a  long  time  the  most  powerful  prince  in 
Europe,  waited  for  three  days,  fasting  and  standing  barefoot  in 

the  snow,  till  the  proud  rival  of  his  power  deigned  to  pardon  him, 

4* 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

take  off  his  excommunication,  and  restore  to  him  the  right  of 
governing  his  own  dominions. 

The  victory  of  Rome  was  complete  under  Hildebrand,  but 
their  maturity  of  power  bordered  closely  on  decay,  as  the  trea- 
tise on  Antichrist  expresses  it  in  the  passage  quoted  above : — 
"  The  rebel  has  reached  old  age,  and  already  shows  signs  of  de- 
crepitude." In  fact,  what  does  history  tell  us  ?  Henry  IV.,  de- 
ceived in  his  attempt  at  a  generous  reconciliation,  again  seized 
the  crown  which  Hildebrand  believed  he  had  wrested  from  him, 
collected  an  army,  made  himself  master  of  Rome  in  1084,  estab- 
lished pope  Clement  III.,  by  whom  he  was  crowned  afresh,  and 
drove  Gregory  VH.  into  exile,  who  died  at  Salerno.  Literally, 
"  Jesus,"  as  the  passage  we  have  quoted  asserts,  "  slew  this  rebel 
Antichrist  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth,  by  means  of  many  men  of 
good-will,  and  by  causing  an  antagonist  power  to  interfere."  Rome 
was  then  closely  pressed  by  a  long  siege,  and,  having  been  taken 
by  assault,  "  the  places  where  Antichrist  dwelt  were  overthrown." 

Henry  V.,  like  his  father,  defended  the  imperial  crown  against 
the  renewed  pretensions  of  the  popes  who  succeeded  Hildebrand. 
In  the  year  11 11,  he  came  to  Rome  at  the  head  of  a  numerous 
army,  overawed  the  city,  and  threw  Pascal  II.  into  prison.  The 
treaty  of  peace  with  this  pope  having  been  annulled  when  he  re- 
gained his  liberty,  after  the  emperor's  departure,  Henry  marched 
a  second  time  to  Rome,  entered  it  in  triumph,  drove  out  his  ad- 
versary, and  nominated  another  pope,  Gregory  VIII.,  who  crown- 
ed him  a  second  time.  Rome  still  struggled,  and,  after  Pascal's 
death,  attempted  to  appoint  his  successor  without  the  emperor's 
concurrence,  in  the  person  of  Gelasius  H.  But  this  new  pope 
was  driven  from  Rome,  and  Henry's  nominee,  Gregory,  kept 
possession  of  the  papal  throne,  by  the  will  of  the  emperor.  This 
took  place  in  1118. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Vaudois  treatise  on  Anti. 
christ  alludes  to  these  events :  the  very  terms  of  the  passage  to 
which  we  have  referred  are  evidence  of  this.  The  date  of  1 1 20, 
which  the  treatise  bears,  cannot,  then,  be  fairly  disputed,  sup- 
ported as  it  is  by  so  striking  an  historical  agreement. 

Some  objections  have  been  raised  against  the  authenticity  of 
the  dates  of  the  Vaudois  writings ;  and  although,  after  what  has 
just  been  said,  they  will  not  possess  much  weight,  we  feel  it  right 
to  examine  them. 


OBJECTIONS  AND  REFUTATIONS.         83 

It  has  been  remarked,  that  in  some  Vaudois  treatises,  parti- 
cularly in  that  on  Antichrist,  the  quotations  of  passages  from 
the  word  of  God  have  the  notation  of  chapters  and  verses,  be- 
sides that  of  the  book ;  and  it  has  been  thence  inferred  that  the 
origin  of  the  writing  was  much  more  recent  than  that  indicated 
by  the  date,  since  it  can  be  shown  that  the  division  of  the  Bible 
into  chapters  and  verses  was  not  made  before  the  thirteenth 
century,  about  the  year  1250.  But,  for  this  objection  to  have 
any  force,  it  must  be  proved  that  the  manuscripts  on  which  this 
discrepancy  is  charged  are  the  very  originals;  since,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  they  are  only  copies  of  a  more  recent  date,  we 
may  readily  understand,  that,  for  the  instruction  of  their  readers, 
the  copyists,*  who,  without  doubt,  were  the  barbes,  or  Vaudois 
pastors,  availing  themselves  of  their  acquaintance  with  this  use- 
ful division,  added  the  notation  of  the  chapters  and  verses, 
without  thereby  subjecting  the  text  to  any  falsification  or  de- 
terioration. We  have  a  stronger  warrant  for  admitting  this 
explanation,  because  all  the  quotations  are  not  accompanied  with 
the  notation  of  chapters  and  verses,  which  would  probably  have 
been  the  case,  had  this  useful  addition  been  made  by  the  author 
himself. 

That  the  writings  of  the  Vaudois  were,  in  fact,  often  copied, 
is  what  we  should  suppose,  from  the  habitual  and  almost  daily 
use  made  of  them  by  the  catechumens  of  the  pastors,  by  the 
pastors  themselves  in  their  ministerial  labours,  and  by  the  be- 
lievers in  general,  who  sought  for  weapons  against  their  adver- 
saries in  the  arsenal  of  their  national  and  religious  literature,  as 
well  as  in  the  Bible.  But  as  regards  one  work,  "  The  Noble 
Lesson,"  a  different  solution  may  be  given  of  the  difficulty . 
Raynouard  has  settled,  that  the  two  manuscripts  extant  of  this 
poem  were  copied  at  distant  intervals,  or  from  different  manu- 
scripts, because  in  one  the  preposition  avec  (with)  is  expressed 
by  au,  and  in  the  other  by  cum;  and  he  concludes  that  the 
Cambridge  manuscript,  which  has  always  au,  is  more  ancient 
than  that  of  Geneva,  which  has  cww.f 

*  Admitting  that  there  might  have  been  other  copyists  beside  the  barbes,  it 
cannot  be  doubted,  from  the  fact  of  their  employment,  that  they  possessed  the 
requisite  knowledge. 

t  The  prepositions  au  and  con  are  both  in  use  at  the  present  day,  in  different 
localities,  but  with  precisely  Iho  same  signification.  Au  mi,  con  mi,  both  mean, 
with  me. 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  authenticity  of  some  books  has  also  been  disputed,  because 
they  contain  quotations  from  the  Fathers.  This  remark  applies 
particularly  to  the  tract  on  Purgatory,  of  the  date  112G.  The 
ancient  Vaudois,  it  is  said,  acknowledged  in  matters  of  faith  no 
authority  but  that  of  the  Bible ;  they  never  cited  the  Fathers  5 
therefore  the  tract  on  purgatory  is  not  genuine.  But  it  is  easy 
to  reply,  that,  maintaining  their  principle  perfectly  inviolate,  that 
the  Bible  alone  is  of  authority  in  matters  of  faith,  the  Vaudois 
could  demonstrate  the  error  of  their  adversaries  on  purgatory 
and  other  points,  by  appealing  to  the  testimony  of  those  Fathers 
of  the  Church,  on  whom  the  Roman  Catholics  principally  rested 
their  doctrine. 

An  anonymous  and  quite  modern  author  has  made  another 
more  serious  objection  against  the  tract  on  purgatory,  although, 
by  a  strange  mistake,  he  imagines  that  he  is  urging  it  against 
the  work  on  Antichrist.  He  justly  observes,  that  the  Yaudois 
writing  at  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  quotes  a  more 
recent  work,  namely,  the  Milleloquium  of  St.  Augustine,  which  is 
a  compilation  from  the  writings  of  that  father  made  by  one 
Augustinus  Triumphus,  who  appeared  with  applause  at  the 
Sorbonne,  and  at  the  council  of  Lyons,  in  1274.  Certainly  this 
objection  is  very  forcible  and  startling ;  how  can  it  be  met  and 
refuted  ?  By  the  mention  of  a  very  simple  fact,  already  stated, 
namely,  that  the  writings  of  the  Vaudois  were  often  copied,  and 
sometimes,  we  may  add,  with  considerable  variations.  It  has 
been  proved,  in  fact,  that  the  extracts  published  by  Leger  from 
the  Purgatory,  and  which  gave  rise  to  the  objection,  were  taken 
from  an  abridgment,  and  not  from  the  original  treatise,  which  is 
of  far  greater  extent ;  a  treatise  which  exists  among  the  manu- 
scripts in  the  library  of  Geneva,  and  is  numbered  208.  The 
author  of  the  abridgment  has  cited  the  Milleloquium,  which 
doubtless  was  at  hand ;  while  the  original  treatise  frequently 
quotes  St.  Augustine  himself,  at  one  time  from  his  book  on  the 
sacraments,  at  another  from  his  work  on  the  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  and  again  from  a  discourse  on  the  words,  "  Drunkards 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  Here  it  is  that  the  pas- 
sage occurs,  "  My  brethren,  let  no  man  deceive  himself;  there 
are  only  two  places,"  (that  is,  paradise  and  hell,)  "the  third 
(purgatory)  does  not  exist  at  all,"  etc.  Any  one  may  convince 
himself  of  the  fact. 


OBJECTIONS    AND  REFUTATIONS.  85 

Do  uot  the  numerous  quotations  from  St.  Augustine,  in  this 
treatise,  authorize  us  in  supposing  that  the  anonymous  author 
of  the  twelfth  century,  quoted  above  and  printed  in  Martene, 
refers  to  it  when  he  mentions  a  Vaudois  writing  called  "  The 
Thirty  Degrees  of  Saint  Augustine  ?"  And  theD,  Avhat  will  the 
objection  raised  against  it  signify  ? 

Lastly,  it  has  been  remarked,  that  these  writings  speak  of  the 
persecutions  endured  by  the  Vaudois ;  and  hence  it  is  inferred 
that  they  could  not  be  productions  of  the  twelfth  century,  since 
they  were  not  persecuted  in  their  valleys  till  a  much  later  period. 
But  this  objection  falls  to  the  ground,  if,  on  the  one  hand,  we 
reflect  that  there  might  be  persecutions  of  which  history  has 
preserved  no  record ;  and,  on  the  other,  if  it  be  granted  that  the 
heretics  destroyed  by  fire  and  sword,  at  Asti,  Orleans,  Toulouse, 
Arras,  and  other  places,  in  the  eleventh  century,  were  regarded 
as  brethren  by  the  Vaudois. 

The  authenticity  of  the  Vaudois  writings  of  the  year  1100, 
1120,  1126,  and  1230,  being  once  admitted,  we  believe  it  is  in 
our  power  to  deduce  from  them  the  antiquity  of  the  church  from 
which  they  proceeded.  It  is  not,  in  fact,  at  its  first  rise,  that  a 
religious  society  exhibits  its  doctrines  and  its  practice  in  numer- 
ous writings ;  for,  before  opinions  are  reduced  to  formal  state- 
ments, they  must  be  settled  and  fixed  in  the  minds  of  men ;  and 
so,  also,  before  those  characteristics,  whether  general  or  parti- 
cular, that  compose  the  life  of  a  society  are  committed  to  writing, 
the  facts  from  which  they  are  deduced  must  have  had  time  to 
take  place.  In  a  word,  it  is  not  at  the  epoch  of  its  formation, 
but  at  that  of  its  full  growth  and  maturity,  that  a  religious  society 
abounds  in  books  of  edification,  instruction,  and  controversy, 
and  in  Christian  poetry.  It  appears  to  us,  then,  to  be  demon- 
strated, that  in  the  year  1100,  the  date  of  the  poem  of  "  The 
Noble  Lesson  "  and  of  the  Vaudois  Catechism,  the  Church  of 
the  valleys,  far  from  being  merely  in  the  dawn  of  evangelical 
light  and  in  the  first  stages  of  its  development,  had  already  at- 
tained the  age  of  strength  and  reflection ;  and  since  no  fact  is 
mentioned  in  history  which  explains  in  what  way  the  Vaudois 
doctrine  penetrated  into  the  valleys,  during  the  two  or  three 
preceding  centuries,  while  many  facts  render  its  existence  pro- 
bable from  the  time  of  Claude  of  Turin,  and  even  earlier,  it 
follows  that  the  Vaudois  Church,  which  produced  such  remark- 


86  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

able  writings  at  the  commencement  of  the  twelfth  century,  was 
a  continuation  of  that  which  this  faithful  bishop  instructed.  She 
had  lived  in  obscurity,  training  and  fortifying  herself,  preparing 
for  the  combat,  from  the  days  of  this  pious  successor  of  the 
apostles  till  those  in  which  a  Pierre  de  Bruis,  a  Henry,  and  so 
many  other  courageous  disciples  of  Christ,  were  seen  descending 
from  the  mountains,  bringing  with  them  the  fragrance  of  the 
pure  gospel;  and  till  the  appearance  of  these  religious  writings 
in  the  Romance  language,  which  were  designed  to  proclaim  the 
truths  of  revelation,  and  to  hold  up  to  imitation  the  holy  life  of 
the  children  of  God.  From  being  feeble  and  timid,  the  Vaudois 
Church  became  strong  and  courageous.  Repose  no  longer  suited 
her  fidelity.  She  renounced  it  in  publishing  her  thoughts ;  she 
did  more — she  proceeded  to  make  a  succession  of  sacrifices  in 
order  to  achieve  the  triumph  of  the  truth  ! 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  BELIEF  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  belief  of  the  Vaudois  has,  like  their  writings,  a  strongly 
marked  character  of  fidelity  to  the  Scriptures,  and  thus  is  found 
to  be  in  harmony,  on  all  essential  points,  with  the  faith  of  the 
primitive  church,  and  the  different  evangelical  churches  to  which 
the  reformation  gave  birth. 

A  complete  and  minute  parallel  between  the  Yaudois  doctrines 
and  those  of  the  primitive  Church  would  detain  us  too  long ;  we 
must  confine  ourselves  to  the  principal  features. 

And  in  the  first  place,  we  remark,  that  the  Vaudois  remained 
faithful  to  the  pure  tradition  of  the  Church  of  the  first  ages,  in 
what  concerns  the  source  and  rule  of  the  Christian  faith.  With 
them  the  source  of  the  truth  was  entirely  and  only  in  the  word 
of  God ;  and  they  recognized  as  such,  the  canonical  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  which  the  Jews  had  already  received  as  in- 
spired, and  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  such  as  were  gene- 
rally in  use.  As  to  the  books  which  the  Jews  have  transmitted 
to  us  as  apocryphal,  they  said,  "  We  read  them  for  the  instruc- 


THEIR  RULE  OF  FAITH.  87 

tion  of  the  people,  but  not  to  confirm  the  authority  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Church."* 

As  to  the  rule  of  their  faith,  they  rejected  every  point  of  doc- 
trine which  did  not  appear  to  them  conformable  to  the  instruc- 
tions and  spirit  of  the  word  of  God ;  at  the  same  time,  they  pro- 
fessed to  believe  and  observe  everything  which  it  reveals  and 
ordains.  This  wise  and  faithful  rule  served  them  as  a  fence 
against  error,  and  an  answer  to  the  attacks  of  their  adversaries. 
Prove  by  the  Holy  Scriptures  that  we  are  in  error,  (they  said 
to  such  persons,)  and  we  are  ready  to  submit.  From  the  most 
remote  period  this  declaration,  always  the  same  in  spirit,  if  not 
in  express  terms,  was  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  their  re- 
ligious physiognomy.  Taking  literally  that  injunction  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  respecting  revealed  truth,  "  Ye  shall  not  add  unto 
the  word  which  I  command  you,  neither  shall  ye  diminish  aught 
from  it ;"  the  ancient  Vaudois  constantly  rejected  doctrines  that 
were  based  on  authority  and  human  tradition :  they  repelled, 
with  holy  indignation  and  horror,  images,  crosses,  and  relics,  as 
objects  of  veneration  or  worship  ;  the  adoration  and  intercession 
of  the  blessed  virgin  Mary  and  the  saints ;  they  consequently  re- 
jected the  feasts  consecrated  to  these  same  saints,  the  prayers 
addressed  to  them,  the  incense  and  tapers  that  were  burned  in 
their  honour ;  they  likewise  rejected  the  Mass,  auricular  confes- 
sion, purgatory,  extreme  unction,  and  prayers  for  the  dead,  ho- 
ly water,  Lent,  abstinence  from  meat  at  certain  times  and  on  cer- 
tain days,  imposed  fasts  and  penances,  processions,  pilgrimages, 
the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  monkery,  etc.,  etc.  Their  declaration 
on  these  points  is  as  explicit  as  it  is  strong. 

"  We  have  always  believed,"  they  say,  in  their  Confession  of 
faith  of  the  year  1120,  (articles  10  and  11,)  "that  all  things  in- 
vented by  men,  such  as  the  feasts  and  vigils  of  the  saints,  holy 
water,  abstinence  on  certain  days  from  meat  and  other  kinds  of 
food,  and,  in  short,  all  such  things,  and  especially  masses,  are  an 
abomination,  which  ought  not  to  be  mentioned  in  the  presence 
of  God.  We  hold  in  abomination  human  inventions  as  antichris- 
tian ;  inventions  for  which  we  are  disturbed,  and  which  are  pre- 
judicial to  liberty  of  spirit." 

We  nowhere  find  that  the  Vaudois  occupied  themselves  with 
the  vain  questions  that  have  often  been  agitated  with  warmth, 
*  (See  Confession  of  Faith,  Article  iii.) 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

such  as  the  perpetual  virginity  of  Mary,  and  her  pretended  dig- 
nity as  mother  of  God,  her  nativity,  assumption,  and  other  such 
points,  of  which  no  mention  is  made  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  Vaudois  subscribed,  moreover,  to  the  articles  of  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed.  We  read  at  the  head  of  their  confession  of  faith — 
"  We  believe  and  maintain  firmly  all  that  is  contained  in  the 
twelve  articles  of  what  is  called  the  Apostles'  Creed,  regarding 
as  heresy  whatever  is  not  conformable  to  it."  They  also  re- 
ceived the  Athanasian  Creed,  which  is  found  among  the  manu- 
scripts in  their  language,  and  the  decisions  of  the  first  four  gene- 
ral councils,  as  not  departing  from  the  rule  of  doctrine  maintain- 
ed among  them,  namely,  the  word  of  God.* 

To  specify  the  belief  of  the  Vaudois  on  some  fundamental 
points,  we  add  that  their  faith  in  God  is  scriptural.  "  We  be- 
lieve in  one  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,"  they  say  in 
art.  2  of  their  Confession.  "  This  God,  all-powerful,  all-wise,  and 
all-good,  has  made  all  things  by  his  goodness."  (Art.  3.) 

In  reference  to  man  they  express  themselves  thus :  "  God 
formed  Adam  in  his  image  and  in  his  likeness ;  but  through  the 
malice  of  the  devil,  and  by  Adam's  disobedience,  sin  entered  into 
the  world,  and  all  are  sinners  in  Adam  and  by  Adam."  (Art.  4.) 

They  received  the  doctrine  of  redemption  in  its  simplicity  and 
purity.  With  them,  salvation  is  gratuitous ;  it  is  a  gift  of  God 
through  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  gift  granted  to  all  those  who 
believe.  "  We  believe"  (say  they,  Art.  7)  "  that  Christ  is  to  us 
life,  truth,  peace,  and  righteousness,  Shepherd  and  Advocate, 
sacrifice  and  Priest ;  that  he  died  for  the  salvation  of  all  believ- 
ers, and  rose  again  for  our  justification." 

Their  belief  respecting  the  state  of  men  after  death  is  perfect- 
ly conformable  to  the  gospel.  We  read  in  the  9th  article  of  their 
confession  of  faith,  "  We  believe,  likewise,  that  after  this  life  there 
are  only  two  abodes,  (places ;)  the  one  for  those  who  are  saved, 
which  we  call  paradise,  and  the  other  for  the  lost,  which  we  call 
hell ;  we  deny  altogether  that  purgatory  dreamed  of  by  Anti- 
christ, and  imagined  contrary  to  the  truth." 

The  Vaudois  admitted  only  the  two  sacraments  instituted  by 

Jesus  Christ,  namely,  baptism  and  the  holy  supper,  which  they 

administered  conformably  to  their  institution.     "  We  believe," 

they  say  in  art.  12,  "that  the  sacraments  are  signs  or  visible 

*  See  Leger,  vol.  i,  p.  116. 


SUBMISSION  TO  CIVIL  AUTHORITY.  89 

forms  of  invisible  graces.  We  maintain  that  it  is  good  for  the 
faithful  sometimes  to  use  these  said  signs  or  visible  forms,  if  it 
can  be  done ;  and  yet  we  believe  and  maintain  that  the  faithful 
may  be  saved  without  receiving  the  said  signs,  if  they  have  nei- 
ther place  nor  means  for  using  them."  And  they  add,  (art.  13,) 
"  We  have  known  no  other  sacraments  besides  baptism  and  the 
eucharist." 

The  Vaudois  were  not  forgetful  of  one  essential  point  for  the 
true  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  submission  to  the  civil  power,  and 
which  it  was  desirable  to  specify,  in  order  to  shut  the  mouths  of 
gainsayers  who  charged  them  with  not  recognizing  the  authority 
of  the  magistrate.  "  We  are  bound,"  they  declare,  in  art.  14, 
"  to  honour  the  secular  power  by  submission,  obedience,  good- 
will, and  the  payment  of  tribute."  After  the  example  of  the 
first  Christians,  and  according  to  the  order  of  their  Divine  Mas- 
ter, they  rendered  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to 
God  the  things  that  are  God's. 

Such,  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  was  the  belief  of 
the  Vaudois,  as  exhibited  in  their  writings,  from  the  year  1100  to 
1126,  and  in  their  other  treatises. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  noticed,  that  no  mention  is  made  in  a  spe- 
cial manner  of  some  particular  doctrines,  such  as  election,  pre- 
destination, and  grace.  This  silence  seems  to  show,  that  they 
followed  and  received  in  simplicity  of  heart  the  declarations  of 
Scripture. 

To  complete  this  brief  exposition  of  the  doctrine  professed  by 
the  ancient  Vaudois,  it  remains  for  us  to  lay  before  our  readers 
some  of  the  opinions  that  have  been  passed  upon  them,  and  the 
accounts  which  have  been  given  by  Catholic  writers,  their  ad- 
versaries. Certainly,  as  might  be  expected,  the  Vaudois  doc- 
trines have  not  been  presented  by  them  in  an  advantageous  light, 
and  very  often  they  have  been  distorted  ;  nevertheless,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  distinguish  the  truth  in  their  statements  from  the  er- 
ror or  falsehood. 

One  of  these  adversaries  of  the  Vaudois,  father  Richini,  ac- 
cuses them  of  maintaining  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  confess  to 
men,  but  that  it  is  sufficient  to  confess  to  God ;  that  external 
penances  are  not  necessary  for  salvation;  and  that  when  the 
sinner  repents  of  his  sins,  whatever  may  be  their  number,  if 
death  surprises  him  in  this  state,  he  goes  straight  to  paradise. 


90  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Though  it  is  not  probable  that  the  Vaudois  expressed  them- 
selves in  terms  so  little  befitting  the  subject  as  the  preceding, 
yet  we  acknowledge  that  the  doctrine  thus  announced  was  es- 
sentially theirs.  Not  having  seen  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  the 
obligation  of  confession  to  the  priest,  or  of  penances,  they  con- 
fined themselves  to  confession  of  sins  to  God,  on  which  they  in- 
sisted with  so  much  the  more  force ;  and  they  believed,  accord- 
ing to  the  gospel,  that  a  sincere  repentance,  united  to  a  living 
faith  in  the  Saviour,  sufficed  to  obtain  from  the  Divine  mercy  the 
pardon  of  sin,  and  an  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

According  to  father  Richini,  the  Vaudois  also  said,  "  that  all 
good  men  are,  as  such,  priests ;  and  that  every  individual  in  a 
state  of  grace  has  as  much  power  to  grant  absolution  as  we  ac- 
knowledge the  pope  to  possess They  despise  the  abso- 
lutions and  excommunications  of  the  Church,  saying  that  none 
but  God  is  able  to  excommunicate."  The  most  ancient  authors 
express  themselves  in  the  same  manner.* 

This  statement  is  correct ;  the  Vaudois  acknowledging  in  no 
man  the  right  to  absolve  sins  otherwise  than  by  declaring  to 
every  believer  that  Christ  has  delivered  him  from  condemnation, 
could  affirm  that  every  believer  had  as  much  right  as  any  one, 
whoever  he  might  be,  consequently  as  the  pope  himself,  to  de- 
clare the  believer  absolved  or  saved,  by  announcing  to  every 
contrite  and  believing  heart  the  benefit  of  the  death  of  Jesus 
Christ.  As  to  the  pretended  right  which  the  Romish  Church 
arrogated  to  itself  of  binding  or  absolving,  we  may  see  the  view 
taken  of  it  by  the  Vaudois,  by  reading  in  "  The  Noble  Lesson  " 
of  the  year  1100,  from  verse  378  to  the  413th,  and  in  the  trea- 
tise on  Antichrist  of  the  year  1 1 20,  to  the  fifth  and  sixth  para- 
graphs.! 

"  They  ridicule  the  papal  indulgences,"  Richini  says  again, 
"  absolutions,  the  power  of  the  keys  conferred  on  the  Church, 
the  dedication  and  consecration  of  churches  or  altars,  calling 
these  ceremonies  feasts  of  stones.  They  say  that  the  whole 
earth  is  equally  consecrated  and  blessed  of  God ;  for  this  reason 
they  acknowledge  no  peculiar  sacredness  either  in  cemeteries  or 
churches." 

*  Richini  Dissertatio  secunda,  cap.  iii,  de  Valdensibus  in  libros  Moneta.— Rai- 
nier and  Polichdorf,  c.  xxxiii— Eberard,  cap.  xii.— Moneta.  liv.  v,  cap.  5. 
t  (See  the  Appendix  to  the  original  work.) 


ACCUSATIONS  OF  THEIR  ADVERSARIES  EXAMINED.    91 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Vaudois  were  often  reduced  to  the 
precarious  state  of  the  first  Christians.  The  congregation  met 
in  the  first  place  that  offered,  oftentimes  under  the  vault  of 
heaven,  in  a  desert,  in  woods,  or  in  caves.  They  never  imagined 
that  the  temple  imparted  sanctity  to  the  persons  assembled,  nor 
that  any  value  could  be  attached  to  the  mere  building ;  for  the 
whole  earth  belonged  to  the  Lord.  Jesus  taught  the  Samaritan 
woman  by  Jacob's  well,  and  his  disciples  on  a  mountain,  by  the 
sea-shore,  or  in  a  ship,  as  well  as  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem. 
If  the  Vaudois  condemned  the  dedication  and  consecration  of 
churches  or  altars,  designating  them  "  feasts  of  stones,"  it  was 
because  the  presence  of  the  Lord  consecrates  the  church ;  and 
it  is  by  prayer,  and  not  by  ceremonies,  that  this  blessing  is  ob- 
tained. As  for  cemeteries,  they  could  hold  them  in  little  esteem, 
on  account  of  the  purity  of  their  faith  and  their  exalted  hopes. 
Of  what  importance  could  the  place  of  rest  for  their  mortal  re- 
mains be  to  them,  while  expecting  the  resurrection  ?  Their 
only  desire  was,  that  their  souls  might  be  admitted  into  the 
presence  of  their  Lord ;  yet  it  is  known  that  the  Albigensian 
Vaudois,  the  disciple  6  of  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry,  had 
cemeteries. 

Catholic  writers  have  also  said,  "  The  Vaudois  ridicule  reli- 
gious singing  and  Divine  service,  and  say  that  it  is  insulting  to 
God  to  sing  what  we  wish  to  utter  to  him,  as  if  he  could  not 
understand  our  prayers  without  our  chanting  them." 

This  account  is  incorrect;  the  Vaudois  could  not  object  to 
singing  in  churches,  and  psalms  and  hymns;  for  they  would 
have  condemned  what  God  has  ordained  in  his  word,  to  which 
they  were  so  submissive.  Besides,  we  cannot  doubt  that  they 
themselves  would  have  admitted,  as  an  act  of  worship,  the  sing- 
ing of  God's  praises,  since  any  one  may  see,  in  the  library  at 
Geneva,  many  hymns  of  the  ancient  Vaudois,  forming  in  the 
whole  a  considerable  collection,  (the  Geneva  manuscript.)  It 
cannot,  then,  be  questioned  that  the  censures  they  expressed 
related  to  the  abuses  of  the  Romish  Church  in  singing  in  an 
unknown  tongue,  and  in  substituting  masses,  and  other  chanted 
services,  for  acts  of  worship  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

"  The  Vaudois,"  it  is  also  said,  "  maintain  that  those  who  do 
not  observe  the  prescribed  fasts,  and  who  eat  meat  according  to 
their  own  pleasure,  commit  no  sin,  provided  they  do  not  give  of- 


92  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

fence  to  others :  thus,  in  private,  they  eat  meat  on  any  day  and 
in  any  place  whatever,  provided  no  one  takes  offence  at  it." 

This  testimony  is  honourable ;  it  confirms  our  conviction  that 
the  Vaudois  had  no  other  rule  of  faith  than  the  word  of  God,  and 
they  knew  how  to  unite  charity  and  truth. 

Richini  says  again,  "  They  accuse  of  sin  whoever  pronounces 
or  executes  a  capital  sentence ;  they  regard  as  homicides  and 
reprobates  those  who  preach  crusades  against  the  Saracens  or 
Albigenses."  Rainier  reports  (chap.  5)  that  the  Vaudois  regard 
the  pope  and  all  the  bishops  as  homicides,  on  account  of  the  wars, 
{propter  bella.)  Moneta  treats  the  same  subject  at  length,  in 
his  fifth  book,  chap.  xiii. 

Must  the  first  proposition  be  understood  as  expressing  an  ab- 
solute disapproval  of  capital  punishment  ?  We  know  not  how  to 
understand  it  otherwise.  But  it  is,  at  least,  very  striking  to  see 
this  important  question  already  resolved  by  the  Yaudois  of  the 
twelfth  century.  As  to  the  censure  passed  on  those  who  ex- 
cited others  to  war,  and  particularly  on  the  pope  and  bishops  who 
preached  in  favour  of  the  crusades,  and  to  k  part  in  many  other 
wars,  we  find  it  perfectly  in  harmony  wita  what  we  know  of  the 
reverence  of  the  Vaudois  for  the  spirit  of  the  gospel. 

An  old  anonymous  writer,  already  quoted,  thus  expresses  him- 
self:— "  The  Vaudois  affirm,  that  the  clergy  and  priests  who 
have  riches  and  possessions  are  children  of  the  devil,  and  the 
creatures  of  perdition.  They  condemn  as  guilty  of  sin  those  who 
pay  them  tithes  and  make  them  offerings.  They  say  that  this  is, 
as  it  were,  fattening  lard." 

Eainier  discusses  this  question  more  at  length.  He  writes : — 
"  These  heretics  teach  that  we  ought  not  to  pay  tithes,  because 
they  were  not  paid  in  the  primitive  Church;  that  priests  and 
monks  ought  not  to  have  prebends  nor  possessions ;  that  bishops 
and  abbots  ought  not  to  enjoy  the  revenues  of  vacant  bishoprics ; 
that  they  ought  not  to  divide  among  themselves  land  and  popu- 
lation ;  that  it  was  wrong  to  endow  monasteries  and  churches, 
and  to  make  wills  in  their  favour ;  that  Churches  ought  not  to 
possess  any  revenue,  but  that  the  clergy  ought,  after  the  exam- 
ple of  the  apostles,  to  labour  with  their  own  hands  for  their  live- 
lihood."— Richini,  ibid. — Polichdorf,  ch.  i. — Eberard,  ch.  x. — Mo- 
neta, liv.  v,  ch.  8. 

As  it  is  true  that  the  Vaudois  taught  and  practised  detachment 


GENERAL  SURVEY.  93 

from  the  world ;  that  they  censured  avarice,  covetousness,  world- 
liness,  and  sensuality,  and  that  their  barbes  or  pastors  laboured 
with  their  own  hands  for  their  subsistence ;  as  it  is  undeniable 
that  the  Romish  clergy  of  the  middle  ages  thought  more  about 
getting  rich  and  enjoying  themselves  than  being  models  of  Chris- 
tian virtue ;  it  may  be  easily  understood  and  explained  how  the 
Vaudois  indulged  in  no  measured  reproaches,  and  perhaps  some- 
times exaggerated,  in  its  application,  a  principle  that  in  itself 
was  just. 

As  to  the  authority  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  faith,  it  is  very 
true  that  the  Vaudois  refused  to  every  ecclesiastical  or  other  body, 
and  to  every  individual,  the  right  of  fixing  the  sense  of  Scripture 
in  an  absolute  manner, — of  imposing  their  interpretation  as  a 
rule  of  faith ;  in  a  word,  of  adding  to,  or  taking  from  the  word 
of  God,  under  the  pretext  of  giving  it  greater  clearness.  But 
it  is  an  exaggerated  statement  to  pretend  that  the  Vaudois  made 
no  account  of  councils  and  the  fathers  of  the  Church.  Their 
writings  prove  that  they  cited  them,  not,  it  is  true,  as  a  rule  of 
faith,  but  as  a  support  and  confirmation  of  their  manner  of  view- 
ing truth  conformably  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

It  cannot,  then,  be  denied  that  the  Vaudois  doctrine  was  pure, 
as  far  as  it  is  given  to  human  weakness  to  express  it,  since  it 
flowed  only  from  the  word  of  God,  received  with  an  humble  and 
submissive  heart. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  MORAL   AND   RELIGIOUS    LIFE    OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

"  Every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit,"  said  the  Head  of 
the  Church,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (Matt,  vii,  1 7.)  According 
to  this  invariable  rule,  a  Church  that  pretends  to  be  founded  on 
the  word  of  truth  ought  to  give  proof  of  its  being  so  by  institu- 
tions, usages,  and  practices,  in  which  faith,  humility,  zeal,  the 
love  of  God  and  one's  neighbour,  renunciation  of  the  world,  pu- 
rity of  heart,  and  all  the  other  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  are  exhibited. 
Such  virtues  were  not  wanting  to  the  Vaudois  Church.  We 
shall  have  occasion  to  point  out  numerous  and  sublime  examples 
of  them  in  the  course  of  this  history,  as  the  facts  come  under  our 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

notice.  For  the  present,  we  shall  describe  the  organization  of 
the  ancient  Vaudois  Church,  and  the  principal  features  that  dis- 
tinguish it.  N 

One  unquestionable  proof  of  the  piety  of  the  Vaudois  Church 
is  the  strict  and  eminently  evangelical  discipline  which  it  estab- 
lished. This  Discipline  has  been  handed  down  to  our  times, 
having  been  preserved  in  the  habits  and  obedience  of  all,  been 
laid  down  in  authentic  statutes,  and  copied  in  ancient  manuscripts. 
Without  being  able  to  assign  a  precise  date  to  the  copy  of  it 
which  we  have,  and  which  the  historian  Leger  has  preserved  for 
us,  we  can  affirm  that  it  was  prior  to  the  Reformation,  as  is  shown 
by  the  testimony  of  the  Reformers  Bucer  and  Melancthon,  who 
approved  of  it. — Leger,  Histoire  Generate,  part  i,  pp.  190-199. 

Its  simplicity  and  severity  also  attest  its  antiquity.  "  Disci- 
pline," as  the  document  from  which  we  are  extracting  asserts, 
"  is  an  assemblage  of  all  the  moral  doctrine  taught  by  Jesus  Christ 
and  the  apostles,  showing  to  each  individual  the  manner  in  which 
he  ought  to  live  and  walk  worthily  in  the  righteousness  which  is 
by  faith,  agreeably  to  the  calling  he  has  received,  and  what  ought 
to  be  the  communion  of  the  faithful  in  the  same  love  of  good,  and 
the  same  departure  from  evil." 

"  To  attain  this  object,  the  Church  has  pastors  who  direct  it. 
Great  care  is  exercised,  so  as  not  to  consecrate  any  to  this  office 
but  true  believers."  In  fact,  the  aspirants  to  this  important 
charge  were  required  to  give  proof  of  their  humility  and  sincere 
desire  to  consecrate  themselves  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  The 
barbes,*  or  pastors,  trained  their  successors : — "  We  give  them 
lessons,"  they  say  in  their  Discipline ;  "  we  make  them  learn  by 
heart  the  whole  of  St.  Matthew  and  St.  John,  and  all  the  canoni- 
cal Epistles,  a  good  part  of  the  writings  of  Solomon,  of  David, 
and  the  prophets.  And  afterwards,  if  a  good  testimony  is  borne 
to  their  character,  they  are  admitted  by  the  imposition  of  hands 
to  the  office  of  preaching."  The  right  of  consecrating  them  was 
vested  in  the  pastors.     "  Among  other  powers  which  God  has 

*  The  title  Barbes,  anciently  given  to  the  Vaudois  pastors,  is  synonymous  with 
the  word  uncle.  It  is  now  no  longer  given  to  them.  Leger  says  that  after  the 
year  1630,  when  the  plague  had  carried  off  all  the  Vaudois  barbes  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two,  (or  three,)  Genevese  and  French  pastors  were  introduced,  whom 
the  people  saluted  respectfully  by  the  title  of  Monsieur  Ic  pasteur.  Nevertheless, 
the  word  barbe  is  not  quite  obsolete  ;  it  is  still  used  as  a  term  of  respect  in  ad- 
dressing an  old  man,  etc. 


MISSIONARIES.  95 

given  his  servants,  he  has  given  them  power  to  choose  leaders 
(pastors)  who  may  govern  the  people,  and  to  appoint  elders  to 
their  offices,  according  to  the  diversity  of  their  employments,  in 
the  unity  of  Christ,  as  the  apostle  proves  in  his  Epistle  to  Titus, 
(chap,  i,  5 :)  '  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou 
shouldest  set  in  order  the  things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain 
elders  in  every  city  as  I  had  appointed  thee.' " 

As  to  the  discipline  of  the  pastors,  it  is  said :  — "  Whenever 
any  one  of  our  pastors  has  fallen  into  any  disgraceful  sin,  he  is 
expelled  from  our  society,  and  the  office  of  preaching  is  taken 
from  him."  As  to  their  support,  it  is  said : — "  Our  food  and 
clothing  are  supplied  and  given  to  us  gratuitously,  and  in  the 
way  of  alms,  as  much  as  is  needed,  by  the  good  people  whom  we 
teach."  The  barbes,  moreover,  all  applied  themselves  to  some 
useful  art,  particularly  medicine  and  surgery. 

No  hierarchical  distinction  was  established ;  the  only  differ- 
ence that  existed  between  the  pastors  was  that  arising  from  age, 
or  services  performed,  and  personal  respect. 

"  The  barbes  usually  assembled  once  a  year  in  a  general  sy- 
nod, to  consult  respecting  the  affairs  of  their  ministry,  most  fre- 
quently in  the  month  of  September,"  says  our  historian,  Gilles. 
"  In  these  synods,"  he  adds,  "  they  examined  and  admitted  to 
the  holy  ministry  such  students  as  appeared  qualified,  and  also 
named  those  who  were  to  travel  to  distant  churches."*  We  learn 
in  the  sequel,  that  the  space  of  time  ordinarily  assigned  to  their 
mission  was  two  years.  They  were  to  remain  in  their  distant 
stations,  till  other »pastors  came  to  take  their  places.  The  pastors 
who  were  fitted  for  these  expeditions  undertook  them  courage- 
ously, although  they  were  often  exposed  to  much  danger. 

Gilles  states  further,  in  speaking  of  times  not  so  ancient :  "  They 
also  had  extraordinary  meetings  by  deputies  from  all  parts  of 
Europe,  where  Vaudois  Churches  existed.  Such  was  the  synod 
held  at  Laux,  (Laos,)  in  the  valley  of  Clusone,  in  the  time  of 
our  immediate  ancestors,  when  one  hundred  and  forty  pastors  of 
the  Vaudois  met  together  from  different  countries. — Gilles,  His- 
toire  Ecclesiastique,  pp.  16,  17.     Geneva,  1644. 

*  When  did  this  long-established  practice  commence  ?  It  would  be  very  in- 
teresting to  have  some  information  on  this  point.  It  would  perhaps  account  for 
the  existence  of  so  many  unknown  priests  who  are  often  referred  to  in  this 
document. 


96  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

These  facts  are  confirmed  by  many  writers.  In  the  bull  of 
pope  John  XXII.,  addressed  to  Jean  de  Badis,  inquisitor  in  the 
diocese  of  Marseilles,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
we  read  among  other  things : — "  It  has  come  to  our  ears,  that  in 
the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  Perosa,  etc.,  the  Vaudois  (Valdenses)  he- 
retics have  increased  and  multiplied,  so  as  to  form  frequent  as- 
semblies in  a  kind  of  chapters,  in  which  they  meet  to  the  num- 
ber of  five  hundred."  It  can  only  be  to  the  synods  that  this  pas- 
sage refers. 

Tradition  reports  that  the  school  of  the  Vaudois  barbes  was 
in  a  retired  glen,  the  Pra-di-torre,  in  the  centre  of  the  mountains 
of  Angrogna. 

It  appears  that  some  pastors  were  married ;  while  the  greater 
part  were  not  so,  though  not  on  account  of  its  being  prohibited, 
but  that  they  might  be  more  free  for  the  service  of  the  Lord. — 
Gilles,  Ibidem. 

The  elders  (regidors)  were  chosen  by  the  people  (and  from 
among  the  people)  to  collect  the  alms  and  offerings.  The  money 
they  received  was  taken  by  them  to  the  general  council,  and 
there,  in  the  presence  of  all,  handed  over  to  their  superiors. 
One  portion  was  reserved  by  the  latter  for  those  who  were  to 
go  to  distant  parts  as  the  messengers  of  Christ,  as  will  be  men- 
tioned afterward,  (chap.  XIII.,)  and  another  was  appropriated 
to  the  poor.  A  third  part  was  allotted  to  the  support  of  the  barbes. 

The  instruction  of  the  children  formed  an  important  part  of 
the  Discipline.  "  Children,"  it  is  said,  "must  be  rendered  spi- 
ritual towards  God,  by  means  of  discipline  and  instruction.  He 
who  instructs  his  son  confounds  the  enemy,  and  when  the  father 
dies  he  may  almost  be  said  not  to  be  deceased,  for  he  leaves  be- 
hind him  a  living  likeness.  Therefore  instruct  thy  son  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  way  of  holy  habits,  and  of  the  faith.  Fur- 
thermore, hast  thou  daughters  ?  watch  over  them,  lest  they  err. 
For  Dinah,  Jacob's  daughter,  corrupted  herself,  from  having  ex- 
posed herself  to  the  eyes  of  strangers." 

Fraternal  correction  was  established  as  well  as  ecclesiastical. 
"  Correction  is  to  be  administered  in  order  to  inspire  fear,  and 
to  punish  those  who  are  not  faithful,  and  that  they  may  be  de- 
livered from  their  wickedness  and  restored  to  sound  doctrine — 
to  faith,  charity,  hope,  and  everything  that  is  good."  Firmness, 
prudence,  and  charity  were  observed  in  the  administration  of 


KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE  BIBLE.  97 

reproof.  If  the  offender  resisted  brotherly  exhortations,  and  his 
fault  had  been  serious  and  public,  should  he  refuse  to  amend,  ec- 
clesiastical penalties  were  inflicted  on  him.  He  might  be  de- 
prived "  of  all  assistance  from  the  Church,  of  the  ministry,  of 
the  fellowship  of  the  Church,  and  of  union  with  it." 

The  frequenting  of  taverns,  "  those  fountains  of  sin  and  schools 
of  the  devil,  where  he  works  miracles  of  his  own  kind,"  were 
prohibited,  as  well  as  dancing,  "  which  is  a  procession  and  pa- 
geant of  the  evil  spirit.  In  the  dance,  the  devil  tempts  men  by 
means  of  women  in  three  ways — by  touch,  sight,  and  hearing. 
In  the  dance,  God's  ten  commandments  are  broken ;  the  hearts 
of  men  are  intoxicated  with  temporal  joys ;  they  forget  God,  they 
utter  nothing  but  falsehood  and  folly,  and  abandon  themselves  to 
pride  and  cupidity." 

The  Discipline  regulated  marriage,  and  required  the  consent 
of  parents ;  and,  in  short,  recapitulated  in  a  summary  manner 
the  principal  rules  of  Christian  conduct  contained  in  the  gospel. 

An  ecclesiastical  organization  so  powerful,  and  so  conformed 
to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  could  be  derived  only  from  one  source  i 
namely,  an  acquaintance  with  the  word  of  life,  and  an  habitual 
submission  to  its  precepts  through  faith. 

A  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  Bible,  and  submission  to  its 
teachings,  formed,  in  fact,  the  distinctive  feature  of  the  ancient 
Vaudois.  The  investigation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  not  the 
duty  or  the  privilege  of  the  barbes  alone  and  their  pupils ;  the 
layman,  the  laborious  rustic,  the  humble  artisan,  the  mountain 
cowherd,  the  mother  of  a  family,  the  young  girl  watching  the 
cattle  and  working  the  while  with  her  spindle,  studied  the  Bible 
attentively  and  conscientiously.  The  inquisitor  Rainier  reports 
that  some  of  the  common  people  could  repeat  the  whole  of  the 
book  of  Job,  which  is  certainly  not  an  easy  task,  and  many  of 
the  psalms.  The  same  author  puts  into  the  mouth  of  a  Vaudois 
missionary  the  following  words :  "  Among  us,  it  is  an  unusual 
thing  if  a  woman  cannot  repeat,  as  well  as  a  man,  the  whole  of 
the  text  in  the  vulgar  tongue."  Assuredly  Rainier  could  not 
have  made  such  assertions  without  foundation. 

So  laborious  and  general  a  study  of  the  word  of  God  among 
a  people,  forms  of  itself  alone  the  indication  of  a  character  deeply 
serious  and  reflective,  and  eminently  moral.  It  implies  a  wide 
development  of  religions  sentiment,  as  well  as  ancient  and  vener- 


98  HISTORY   OE  THE  VAUDOIS. 

able  habits  of  piety.  A  fruit  of  faith,  it  is  like  fruits  which 
have  in  themselves  the  germ  of  a  plant  of  the  same  kind ;  it  pos- 
sesses, in  its  turn,  the  principle  of  its  reproduction,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  nourishes  souls  who  are  already  rendered  fruitful. 
Yes ;  the  constant  study  of  the  Bible,  which  is  a  work  of  faith  to 
the  believer,  becomes,  to  him  who  witnesses  it,  seed  which  will 
germinate  in  due  time,  while  it  continues  to  be  also  vital  nourish- 
ment to  the  faith  that  is  still  weak. 

One  of  the  agents  of  Rome  in  the  persecutions  against  the  Vau- 
dois,  the  inquisitor  Rainier  Sacco,  has  done  them  justice,  in  his 
book  against  the  Valdenses,  when  he  says :  "  The  heretics  may 
be  known  by  their  manners  and  their  language ;  for  they  are 
well-ordered  and  modest  in  their  manners ;  they  avoid  pride  in 
their  dress,  the  materials  of  which  are  neither  expensive  nor 
mean.  They  do  not  engage  in  mercantile  pursuits,  in  order  that 
they  may  avoid  temptations  to  falsehood,  swearing,  and  fraud. 
They  live  by  their  labour  as  artisans ;  their  men  of  learning  are 
likewise  shoemakers.  They  do  not  amass  wealth,  but  content 
themselves  with  what  is  necessary.  They  are  chaste,  especially 
the  Leonists.  They  are  temperate  in  eating  and  drinking.  They 
do  not  frequent  taverns  or  dances,  and  are  not  addicted  to  other 
vanities.  They  are  on  their  guard  against  the  indulgence  of 
anger.  They  labour  constantly.  They  study  and  teach ;  they 
also  pray,  but  little.  ...  They  may  be  known  also  by  their 
concise  and  modest  discourse ;  they  guard  against  indulging  in 
jesting,  slander,  or  profanity."* 

We  claim  also  the  testimony  of  Bernard.  The  heretics  of 
whom  he  speaks  are  not,  it  is  true,  the  Vaudois  of  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont,  but  they  are,  as  we  think  has  been  proved,  their  dis- 
ciples, their  children  and  brethren  in  the  faith,  their  companions 
in  labour — those  who  in  the  south  of  France  were  called  Apos- 
tolicals,  because  they  aspired,  like  every  Christian  friend  of  the 
gospel,  to  reproduce,  in  their  language  and  actions,  the  doctrine 
and  life  of  the  apostles.  Along  with  reports  dictated  by  prejudice 
and  the  ill-will  of  a  partisan  of  Rome,  the  writings  of  St.  Bernard 
contain  some  remarkable  concessions.  Reproaching  the  heretics 
for  refusing  to  take  an  oath,  he  asks  them  on  what  passage  of  the 
New  Testament  they  support  their  practice.     And  then  he  ac- 

*  Maxima  Biblioth,  P.  P.,  t.  xxv,  chsi  iii  and  vii,  cols.  263,  264,  272.— See  also 
a  similar  passage  by  another  author,  col.  275. 


TESTIMONY  OF  DE  THOU.  99 

knowledges  that "  they  glory"  (though  erroneously,  in  his  opinion) 
"  in  following  it  to  every  iota."  This  single  feature  says  much. 
Men  who  studied  scrupulously  to  follow  the  gospel,  and  who  for 
conscience'  sake,  and  to  obey  their  Lord,  refused  to  take  an  oath, 
could  not  but  be  moral  men.  Bernard,  carried  away  by  his  pre- 
judices, accuses  "  this  wicked  heresy  of  being  skilful  in  lying  not 
only  in  speaking,  but  also  in  the  actions  of  the  life.  If  you  ask," 
he  says,  "  what  is  its  faith  ?  nothing  is  more  Christian ;  if  you 
ask,  what  is  its  manner  of  life  ?  nothing  is  more  irreproachable. 
And  it  proves  what  it  says  by  the  effects.  In  testimony  of  his 
faith,  you  see  a  man  frequent  the  church,  honour  the  priests, 
make  his  offerings,  confess,  and  partake  of  the  sacraments.  What 
can  be  more  faithful  ?*  In  regard  to  life  and  manners,  he  strikes 
no  one ;  he  circumvents  no  one ;  he  does  not  exalt  himself  above 
any  one.  Fastings  render  him  pale ;  he  never  eats  the  bread 
of  idleness,  but  labours  with  his  own  hands  for  his  livelihood." — 
Divi  Bernardi  Opera;  Parisiis,  1548,  Sermo  65,  pp.  170  and  1 71. 

An  archbishop  of  Turin,  Claude  de  Seyssel,  who,  about  the 
year  1517,  endeavoured  to  draw  the  Vaudois  of  the  Piedmontese 
valleys  within  the  pale  of  the  Romish  Church,  attests,  that  "  as 
to  their  life  and  manners,  they  were  irreproachable  among  men, 
applying  themselves  with  all  their  power  to  the  observance  of 
the  commandments  of  God." — Leger,  pt.  i,  p.  184. 

De  Thou,  in  his  Universal  History,  has  preserved  the  account 
given  to  Francis  I.  by  Guillaume  du  Bellay  de  Langey,  who  had 
been  commissioned  by  that  prince  to  collect  information  respect- 
ing the  Vaudois  of  Provence,  Merindol,  ,Cabrieres,  etc.,  colonies 
of  the  Vaudois  of  Piedmont.  "  He  found,"  says  the  author,  "  by 
the  most  exact  scrutiny,  that  those  who  were  called  Vaudois  were 
persons  who,  for  three  centuries,  had  received  from  certain  lords 
some  uncultivated  lands  on  certain  conditions ;  who,  by  indefa- 
tigable labour  and  constant  cultivation,  had  made  them  fertile  in 
corn  and  pasturage ;  that  they  knew  how  to  endure  toil  and  pri- 

*  This  would  be  scarcely  honourable  for  the  Vaudois  ;  but  we  may  venture  to 
say,  that  the  imputed  fact  was  only  true  for  a  short  time,  or  in  individual  cases. 
The  Christians  mentioned  here  by  St.  Bernard  were  perhaps,  only,  recently  con- 
verted when  he  came  to  Toulouse  and  other  places,  and  he  has  attributed  to  the 
generality  what  was  true  only  of  persons  who  were  timid  and  imperfectly  con- 
vinced. It  should  be  particularly  observed,  that  Rome  was  not  yet  entirely  sunk 
id  its  errors  and  superstitions,  since  heretics  were  permitted  to  preach,  as  Hen- 
ry at  Mans,  etc. 


100  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

vations  with  patience ;  that  they  abhorred  quarrels  and  law-suits ; 
that  they  were  compassionate  towards  the  poor ;  that  they  paid 
with  much  exactness  and  fidelity  tribute  to  the  king  and  the  dues 
to  their  lords ;  that  their  continual  prayers  and  the  innocence  of 
their  manners  made  it  sufficiently  apparent  that  they  honoured 
God  sincerely." — Histoire  Universelle,  par  De  Thou,  Bale,  1742, 
t.  i,  p.  539. 

Lastly,  a  Piedmontese  historian,  Botta,  in  speaking  of  more 
modern  times,  remarks,  "  In  short,  the  Vaudois,  whether  it  was 
the  effect  of  their  religion,  of  their  poverty,  of  their  feebleness, 
or  of  the  persecutions  which  they  endured,  have  preserved  in- 
tegrity of  manners,  and  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  threw  off  the 
reins  of  authority  in  order  to  yield  to  the  impetuosity  of  the  pas- 
sions."— Storia  d'ltalia  di  Carlo  Botta,  Parigi,  1832,  t.  i,  369,  370. 

After  these  various  proofs,  and  all  these  testimonies,  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  the  ancient  Vaudois  honoured  by  their 
character,  their  words,  and  their  life,  the  profession  they  made 
of  submitting  in  all  things  to  the  gospel. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    MISSIONARY    ZEAL     AND   PROSELYTISM     OF    THE    ANCIENT 
VAUDOIS. 

A  prominent  feature  in  the  religious  character  of  the  ancient 
Vaudois,  and  one  which  merits  special  attention,  is  their  spirit  of 
proselytism  and  their  missionary  zeal.  In  this  respect,  also,  the 
Vaudois  Church  resembled  that  of  the  first  Christians. 

The  church  which  engraved  on  its  seal  a  torch  burning 
in  darkness,  with  this  motto,  Lux  lucet  in  tenebris,  ("  the  light 
shineth  in  darkness,")  this  church  was  not  unmindful  to  put  in 
practice  the  Saviour's  injunction,  on  which  that  image  was  found- 
ed, and  which  is  thus  expressed :  "  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle, 
and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick ;  and  it  giveth 
light  unto  all  that  are  in  the  house.  Let  your  light  so  shine  be- 
fore men."  Matt.  v.  15,  16. 

Bernard  de  Foncald,  a  Roman  Catholic  author  of  the  twelfth 
century,  speaking  of  the  members  of  the  Vaudois  sect  that  were 
spread  through  France,  says,  "  They  all  preach  here  and  there, 


SPIRIT  OF  PROSELYTISM.  101 

without  distinction  of  age  or  sex ;  and  maintain  that  every  one 
who  knows  the  word  of  God  ought  to  spread  it  among  the  people 
and  preach  it."  An  anonymous  writer  of  the  following  century 
expresses  himself  in  these  terms  in  his  treatise  on  the  heresy  of 
the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons :  "  They  (the  Vaudois)  employ  all  their 
zeal  in  drawing  numbers  with  them  into  error.  They  teach  very 
young  girls  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles,  that  they  may  be  habit- 
uated to  embrace  error  from  their  infancy ;  and  when  they  have 
learned  a  little  in  these  books,  they  use  their  utmost  efforts  to 
teach  it  to  others,  wherever  they  may  happen  to  be,  if  they  con- 
sent to  hear  them  favourably."* 

It  was,  no  doubt,  a  dread  of  the  efforts  of  this  well-known  spi- 
rit of  proselytism,  which  induced  the  magistrates  of  Pinerolo,  in 
the  year  1220,  to  prohibit  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  and  its  en- 
virons, at  the  risk  of  a  penalty,  from  showing  hospitality  to  a  Vau- 
dois man  or  woman. — Liber  Statutorum  civiiatis  Pinaroli.  Augustae 
Taurinorum,  anno  1602. 

It  is  also  an  incontestable  fact,  that  the  Vaudois  Church  sent 
out  numerous  and  active  missionaries  in  all  directions.  The  an- 
cient Discipline  of  the  evangelical  churches  of  Piedmont,  cited 
at  length  in  the  preceding  chapter,  is  a  proof  of  it ;  for  it  tells 
us  that  a  part  of  the  money  collected  by  the  elders  was  placed 
by  them  in  the  hands  of  their  superiors,  who  distributed  it  to 
those  who  went  to  distant  parts.  Gilles,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory, gives  some  interesting  details  and  facts  relative  to  the  Vau- 
dois missionaries,  at  a  more  recent  period,  it  is  true,  but  yet  prior 
to  the  Reformation.  These  details  illustrate  the  application  and 
development  of  the  very  brief  article  in  the  Discipline,  which 
was  itself,  no  doubt,  a  summary  of  the  ancient  practice  of  the 
Church. 

The  same  writer  states  that  the  barbes  in  their  ordinary  synods 
"  examined  and  admitted  the  students  who  were  eligible  for  the 
sacred  ministry,  and  nominated  those  who  were  to  travel  and  to 
go  to  distant  churches  in  Calabria,  Apulia,  Sicily,  and  other  parts 
of  Italy,  and  also  in  other  countries.  This  mission  was  ordina- 
rily for  two  years,  and  continued  till  the  places  were  supplied 
with  other  pastors,  sent  by  another  synod  of  the  Valleys." 

He  adds,  in  the  following  chapter,  (iii,)  "  it  (the  synod)  gene- 

*  Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  xxiv,  cols.  1586-1600.  In  Marine,  etc.  Tractatus 
de  Haeresi  pauperum  de  Lugduno,  auctore  anonymo. 


102  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

rally  sent  them  out  two  and  two ;  one,  who  was  more  familiar 
with  the  places,  roads,  persons,  and  affairs,  and  the  other  belong- 
ing to  the  newly-chosen,  in  order  that  he  might  acquire  practical 
knowledge,"  etc. — Gilles,  pp.  16, 17,  20,  etc. 

The  author  likewise  informs  us  that  a  minister  of  the  same 
name  as  himself,  Gilles,  was  more  than  once  employed  as  a  mis- 
sionary in  Calabria,  about  the  time  when  the  Reformation  broke 
out.  Gilles  adds,  on  this  subject,  a  singular  fact,  which  we  think 
worth  recording.  "  The  pastors,"  he  says,  "  who  were  fitted  for 
foreign  service,  readily  undertook  it,  although  generally  attended 
with  considerable  danger,  because  it  was  for  the  honour  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  men :  the  barbes  also  accustomed  their  dis- 
ciples, from  the  first,  to  such  implicit  obedience,  that  none  of 
them  would  have  dared  to  attempt  anything  important  without 
the  advice  and  permission  of  their  leaders." — Gilles,  pp.  16,  17. 

We  conceive  that  this  entire  submissiveness  of  the  younger 
barbes  to  the  more  aged  and  to  the  leaders,  has  led  Roman  Ca- 
tholic authors  into  an  error,  and  made  them  believe  that  the 
Vaudois  had  a  clerical  hierarchy,  like  themselves,  of  bishops,  etc. 
But  nothing  in  their  history  or  writings  authorizes  us  to  believe 
in  the  existence  of  any  other  distinction  among  the  barbes,  ex- 
cepting that  of  age,  experience,  and  personal  qualities,  which  de- 
termined their  choice  of  leaders  as  circumstances  might  require, 
as  is  still  practised,  and  no  doubt  was  always  practised,  in  this 
church. 

In  support  and  confirmation  of  what  has  been  said  of  the  mis- 
sionary zeal  of  the  Yaudois,  we  may  refer  to  the  religious  mani- 
festations of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  called  forth  by 
some  well-known  foreigners,  as  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  Henry,  for 
example;  others  by  unknown  individuals,  as  the  female  who 
came  from  Italy,  to  whom  the  heresy  at  Orleans  is  attributed. 

Even  their  adversaries  acknowledge  the  fact.  Thus  Eberard, 
de  Bethune,  speaking  of  the  Vallenses,  whom  he  also  calls  Xa- 
batatenses,  says,  "  They  cannot  visit  and  see  foreign  countries, 
without  endeavouring  to  pass  for  so  many  Christs,"*  that  is,  he 
says,  for  Christians,  disciples  of  their  Master.  We  attach  the 
same  meaning  to  the  following  passage  from  Bernard  de  Foncald  : 

*  We  see,  that  the  missionaries  had  been  obliged  to  abandon  the  clerical  cos- 
tume here,  and  had  adopted  another,  perhaps,  as  they  believed,  in  imitation  of 
Christ. 


TESTIMONY  OF  RAINIER.  103 

"  These  Valdenses,  although  condemned  by  the  same  sovereign 
pontiff,  (Lucius  II.,)  continued  to  pour  forth,  with  daring  effron- 
tery, far  and  wide,  all  over  the  world,  the  poison  of  their  perfidy.'' 
—Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxiv,  col.  1572,  1586. 

Mapee  is  still  more  explicit,  when,  speaking  of  the  Vaudois 
who  appeared  at  the  Lateran  council  in  1179,  he  adds,  "  These 
people  have  no  settled  home  anywhere ;  they  travel  here  and 
there,  two  and  two,  barefooted,  in  a  woollen  dress,  professing  no- 
thing, and  having  all  things  common  like  the  apostles." — Usher, 
pp.  269,  270. 

The  inquisitor  Sacco  (or  Rainier)  furnishes  many  similar  tes- 
timonies on  the  same  subject.  We  will  only  mention  one,  which 
is  very  much  to  the  point.  He  tells  us  that  the  Vaudois  missiona- 
ries gained  access  to  the  higher  classes  by  going  about  as  pedlers. 
"  They  offer  for  sale  to  people  of  quality  ornamental  articles, 
such  as  rings  and  veils.  After  a  purchase  has  been  made,  if  the 
pedler  is  asked, '  Have  you  anything  else  to  sell  ?'  he  answers, 
1 1  have  jewels  more  precious  than  these  things ;  I  would  make 
you  a  present  of  them,  if  you  would  promise  not  to  betray  me  to 
the  clergy.'  Having  been  assured  on  this  point,  he  says,  '  I  have 
a  pearl  so  brilliant  that  a  man,  by  means  of  it,  may  learn  to  know 
God ;  I  have  another  so  splendid,  that  it  kindles  the  love  of  God 
in  the  heart  of  him  who  possesses  it,'  and  so  forth.  He  speaks 
of  pearls  metaphorically ;  then  he  repeats  some  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture with  which  he  is  familiar, — such  as  that  of  Saint  Luke,  '  The 
angel  Gabriel  was  sent,'  or  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ  in  John  xiii, 
1  Before  the  feast,'  etc. 

"  After  this  or  some  such  address,  the  heretic  says  to  his  hearer : 
'  Examine  and  consider  which  is  the  most  perfect  religion  and 
the  purest  faith,  whether  ours  or  that  of  the  Romish  Church, 
and  choose  it,  whichever  it  may  be/ 

.  .  .  .  And  thus,  being  turned  from  the  Catholic  faith  by  such 
errors,  he  forsakes  us.  A  person  who  gives  credit  to  such  dis- 
course, who  imbibes  errors  of  this  kind,  and  becomes  their  par- 
tisan and  defender,  concealing  the  heretic  in  his  house  for  many 
months,  is  initiated  into  all  that  relates  to  their  sect."* 

The  foregoing  details  can  leave   no  doubt  respecting   the 
existence  of  Vaudois  missionaries,  and  the  spirit  of  proselytism 
which  animated  the  whole  church.     We  shall  have  more  than 
*  Reinerus,  Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxv,  col.  275,  and  following. 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

one  occasion  to  refer  to  this  characteristic  in  the  course  of  this 
history. 

M.  Planta,  in  his  History  of  the  Helvetic  Confederacy,  quotes 
a  passage  from  the  Chronicle  of  the  Abbey  of  Corbie,  taken  from 
a  manuscript  which  he  believes  was  written  about  the  beginning 
of  the  twelfth  century.  This  quotation,  while  interesting  as  an 
example  of  missionary  zeal,  is  also  an  additional  proof  of  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  Vaudois  Church  of  the  Alps,  as  Hallam  remarks 
in  his  View  of  the  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages. 
"  Some  laics  of  Suabia,  Switzerland,  and  Bavaria,  persons  seduced 
by  the  ancient  race  of  simple  men  who  inhabit  the  Alps  and  their 
vicinity,  and  who  love  ancient  things,  wished  to  abase  (humiliate) 
our  religion  and  the  faith  of  all  the  Christians  of  the  Latin  Church. 
Merchants  belonging  to  the  people  of  these  Alps  who  commit  the 
Bible  to  memory,  and  who  have  an  aversion  to  the  rites  of  the 
Church  which  they  call  new,  often  find  their  way  from  Switzer- 
land (ex  Suicia)  into  Suabia,  Bavaria,  and  northern  Italy.  They 
refuse  to  honour  (yenerari)  images,  they  have  an  aversion  to 
relics,  they  live  on  vegetables,  rarely  eat  meat,  and  some  of  them 
never.  We  therefore  call  them  Manicheans ;  some  of  these  per- 
sons having  come  to  them  from  Hungary,  etc."* 

We  cannot  conclude  this  subject  without  recalling  to  mind  a 
fact  which  we  have  already  noticed  in  chapter  III.,  as  well  as  in 
chapters  V.  and  VI.  of  this  history ;  namely,  the  appearance  in 
different  places,  during  more  than  three  hundred  years,  of  priests 
or  foreign  preachers,  unknown,  but  pointed  out  to  the  attention 
and  inspection  of  the  prelates,  as  not  belonging  to  any  church, 
nor  being  subject  to  any  spiritual  chief;  on  which  account  they 
are  often  called  Acephali,  [headless.]  In  our  opinion,  these  men, 
or  at  least  many  among  them,  might  be  the  emissaries,  or  rather 
the  missionaries,  of  the  faithful  churches — of  the  Vaudois  Church, 
for  example — still  surviving  in  various  places  the  general  apos- 
tasy, the  Romish  heresy.  These  priests,  without  a  name,  and 
without  an  ordination,  approved  of  by  the  apostate  church,  were, 
perhaps,  the  spiritual  guides  sent  to  rouse  the  zeal  and  reanimate 
the  drooping  faith  of  scattered  flocks,  as  well  as  to  win  new  souls 
to  Christ.  Such  were  the  priests  twice  denounced  by  Celestin 
to  the  prelates  of  Gaul ;  those  denounced  to  Zachary  by  Boni- 

*  History  of  the  Helvetic  Confederacy,  by  Planta,  vol.  i,  pp.  179, 180.  [p.  93, 
4to  edit.,]  quoted  by  Hallam,  [iii,  467.1 


THE  VAUDOIS  IN  FRANCE.  105 

face  of  Germany ;  the  acephalous  clerks  anathematized  in  the 
councils  of  Mayence  or  Arras  in  the  year  813,  of  Pavia  in  850 
and  855,  and  of  Melphi,  a  city  of  La  Pouille,  in  1090  :  in  short, 
an  Arnulph,  a  Pierre  de  Bruis,  a  Henry,  and  many  others.* 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PERSECUTION  OF  THE  VAUDOIS   IN  THE  THIRTEENTH   CENTURY. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  number  of  Vau- 
dois  Christians  was  considerable  in  all  parts ;  but,  as  we  have 
shown  at  the  end  of  chapter  VI.,  they  were  known  under  differ- 
ent names,  derived  from  their  particular  leaders,  or  owing  as 
much  to  ill-will  as  to  certain  circumstances. 

In  France,  the  work  begun  by  Pierre  de  Bruis  and  by  Henry, 
received  a  new  impulse  from  Pierre  Valdo,  or  Pierre  the  Vaudois. 
The  preaching  as  well  as  the  exemplary  self-denial  and  charity 
of  this  faithful  and  pious  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  combined  with 
the  labours  of  his  disciples,  who  were  branded  with  the  honour- 
able name  of  the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  had  rendered  essential  ser- 
vice to  the  cause  of  Christian  truth.  General  attention  was  di- 
rected to  these  manifestations.  The  effect  they  produced  was 
so  powerful,  that  the  remembrance  of  former  ones  was  in  a  mea- 
sure effaced ;  and  most  persons  living  at  the  time  make  mention 
only  of  Pierre  Valdo  and  his  disciples.  The  state  of  religious 
affairs  when  he  appeared  was  not  recollected:  the  relation  in 
which  he  probably  stood  to  the  Vaudois  who  had  preceded  him 
was  not  suspected ;  and  by  an  egregious  mistake,  some  through 
ignorance,  and  others  by  an  inexplicable  confusion,  made  him 
the  chief  of  the  Vaudois  sect,  to  which  he  was  only  affiliated, 
though  inferior  to  none  of  its  members  in  activity.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  zeal  of  the  Poor  Men  of 
Lyons,  joined  to  the  efforts  of  the  Petrobrusians,  the  Henricians, 
and  other  sectaries,  had  remarkably  increased  the  numbers  of 
the  Vaudois  in  almost  all  the  provinces  of  France. 

Germany,  as  well  as  Italy,  abounded  with  many  enemies  to 
Rome.     They  belonged  to  all  classes  of  society.     Among  them 

*  For  the  Councils,  see  the  Magdeburgh  Centuriators,  Cent,  ix,  cols.  369,  370, 
419,  420.— Delectus  Actorum  Ecclesiae  Univ.,  t.  i,  pp.  750,  922,  1555. 

5* 


106  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

were  to  be  found  nobles,  plebeians,  clergy,  monks,  persons  be- 
longing to  the  religious  orders,  townspeople,  and  peasants.  Tri- 
teme,  who  states  this  fact,  informs  us  that,  at  the  date  of  the 
year  1229,  the  Cathari — a  subdivision  of  the  Vaudois,  as  we  have 
seen  in  chapter  VI. — were  spread,  though  secretly,  through  Ger- 
many and  Italy,  in  Lombardy  especially,  in  such  numbers  that, 
as  was  said  by  some  belonging  to  them,  they  could  travel  from 
Cologne  to  Milan,  and  be  hospitably  received  every  night  on  their 
road  by  members  of  their  fraternity. — Triteme,  pp.  224-232. 

One  of  them,  mentioned  by  the  name  ofMaitre  Nouveau,  (New 
Master,}  and  who  suffered  martyrdom  at  Vienna,  in  Austria,  in 
the  year  1299,  averred  that  in  that  same  country,  in  Bohemia 
and  the  adjacent  districts,  they  amounted  to  more  than  80,000. 
Our  readers  will  recollect  that  Pierre  Valdo,  when  obliged  to 
flee  from  Lyons,  after  having  spent  some  time  in  Picardy,  in 
Vindelicia,  took  refuge  in  Bohemia,  where  he  ended  his  days. 

The  inquisitor  Rainier  Sacco  informs  us,  also,  that  Italy  in  his 
time,  about  the  year  1254,  was  filled  with  Cathari.  Besides  the 
Bagnolensian  heretics,*  (so  named  from  Bagnolo,  a  city  situated 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Vaudois  valleys,)  Rainier  speaks  of 
the  Cathari  of  Mantua,  Brescia,  Bergamo,  and  the  duchy  of  Milan. 
He  mentions  also  those  of  Vicenza,  Florence,  and  the  valley  of  Spo- 
letto.  After  enumerating  sixteen  churches  belonging  to  the  Vau- 
dois Cathari,  established  through  all  Europe  as  far  as  Constan- 
tinople, he  adds,  that  if  their  number  (the  number  of  the  perfect, 
without  doubt,  that  is,  of  the  principal  among  them)  did  not  ex- 
ceed four  thousand,  the  believers  (that  is,  no  doubt,  all  who  were 
affiliated  to  them)  were  innumerable.  Besides  many  of  these 
churches,  which  he  places  in  France,  as  the  Albigensian,  he 
names  those  of  Bulgaria,  Sclavonia,  ete.f 

A  movement  so  general  and  so  opposed  to  the  Romish  worship 
could  not  fail  to  excite  great  indignation  in  the  bosom  of  the  pope, 
the  prelates,  and  the  clergy.  Very  soon  a  cry  of  wrath  and  ven- 
geance resounded  from  the  south  to  the  north,  and  the  perse- 
cution, which  had  hitherto  been  only  partial  and  local,  extended 
to  all  points.  A  war  of  extermination  could  alone  save  the  Ro- 
mish establishment  from  the  terrible  blow  with  which  it  was 

*  This  fact  is  confirmed  by  Gioffredo.    Storia  delle  Alpi  Maritime  ;— in  Monu- 
menta  Historic  Patriae,  t.  iii,  p.  488. 
t  Maxima  Biblioth.,  P.  P.,  t.  xxv,  col.  269,  and  foHowing. 


DECREE  OF  OTHO  IV.  107 

threatened  by  the  efforts  of  the  Vaudois  Christians  for  the  pro- 
pagation of  pure  doctrine,  by  the  example  of  their  self-denying 
lives,  their  charity,  their  purity,  and  their  good  works.  The  pre- 
lates and  the  pope  therefore  invoked  the  assistance  of  the  tem- 
poral power,  and  by  its  aid  laboured  to  destroy  their  enemies ; 
nor  did  they  stop  till  they  saw  themselves  masters,  and  supposed 
they  had  suppressed  or  annihilated  them. 

All  the  particulars  of  this  work  of  iniquity  have  not  come  down 
to  us.  The  cries  of  many  of  its  victims  never  reached  beyond 
their  prison-walls,  or  the  crowd  that  assembled  round  their  fune- 
ral pile.  The  correspondence  of  Rome  and  the  archives  of  the 
inquisition  contain  many  a  secret,  and  abundant  details  which 
have  not  transpired.  On  many  points,  we  are  acquainted  with 
only  some  isolated  facts. 

To  begin  with  one  of  these  facts,  not  very  circumstantially 
given,  but  relating  to  the  countries  most  frequently  mentioned 
in  this  work,  the  Vaudois  valleys  of  Piedmont,  we  shall  cite  the 
first  decree  of  persecution  of  which  we  know,  obtained  specifically 
against  the  Vaudois  by  the  Roman  clergy,  and  emanating  from 
the  imperial  power.  It  is  dated  A.  D.  1198.  Otho  IV.,  when 
he  visited  Rome  in  order  to  be  crowned  by  the  pope,  granted  it 
at  the  request  of  James,  bishop  of  Turin.  The  following  are  the 
principal  passages,  translated  from  the  Latin  : 

"  Otho,  by  the  grace  of  God  august  emperor,  to  his  well-be- 
loved and  faithful  bishop  of  Turin,  grace  and  good-will,  etc.  It 
is  our  wish  that  all  those  who  do  not  proceed  in  the  right  path, 
and  who  strive  to  extinguish  in  our  dominions  the  light  of  the 
Catholic  faith  by  their  perverse  heresy,  should  be  punished  with 
imperial  severity,  and  that  in  all  parts  of  the  empire  they  should 
be  separated  from  intercourse  with  the  faithful.  By  the  autho- 
rity of  these  presents  we  enjoin  you,  in  reference  to  the  Vaudois 
heretics,  (Valdenses,)  and  all  those  who  sow  the  tares  of  false- 
hood in  the  diocese  of  Turin,  and  who  attack  the  Catholic  faith, 
teaching  any  perverse  error  whatever,  that  you  expel  them  from 
the  whole  diocese  of  Turin,  supported  by  the  imperial  authority. 
To  this  end  we  confer  upon  you,  etc.,  etc."* 

The  ordinance  of  Count  Thomas  of  Savoy,  and  the  magistrate 
of  Pinerolo,  of  the  year  1220,  already  cited  in  a  preceding  chap- 

*  Taken  from  Spondanus  in  the  year  1198,  and  the  archives  of  Turin.  See 
Monum.  Hist.  Patria3,  t.  iii,  p.  488. 


108  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ter,  might  be  introduced  here  under  the  head  of  persecutions, 
since  it  prohibited  every  inhabitant  of  that  city  and  its  environs 
from  showing  hospitality  to  the  Vaudois,  either  men  or  women. 
This  severe  measure  shows  the  state  of  proscription  in  which  the 
Vaudois  of  this  part  of  Piedmont  were  placed,  whenever  they 
ventured  beyond  their  valleys. 

But  the  greatest  severity  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  exercised 
on  the  friends  of  the  gospel  to  the  west  of  the  Alps,  the  disciples 
of  Pierre  de  Bruis,  Henry,  and  Pierre  Valdo.  Its  concentrated 
rage  was  especially  let  loose  for  a  number  of  years  over  the  beau- 
tiful champaign  country  watered  by  the  Tam  and  other  tribu- 
tary streams  of  the  Garonne  in  the  vales  of  the  Durance,  and  the 
plains  washed  by  the  lower  Rhone  and  the  waves  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. These  cruel  persecutions  are  known  by  the  name 
of  the  crusades  against  the  Albigenses ;  a  name  taken  from  the 
city  and  territory  of  Albi,  one  of  the  principal  centres  of  the 
Vaudois  sect  in  the  south  of  France. 

It  forms  no  part  of  our  plan  to  give  the  history  of  this  great  act 
of  iniquity :  such  a  subject  requires  a  separate  treatise ;  and  we 
refer  our  readers,  for  the  details,  to  the  historians  who  have  writ- 
ten expressly  upon  it.  We  confine  ourselves  to  noticing  the 
means  employed  by  the  court  of  Rome,  and  their  results. 

Pope  Innocent  III.  began  the  work  by  combining  persuasions 
with  menaces ;  appeals  to  Roman  Catholic  fidelity,  with  insinua- 
ting measures  of  the  most  able  and  refined  policy  towards  the 
reigning  princes.  The  selection  of  agents  who  were  perfectly 
adapted  for  such  a  mission,  seemed  to  assure  him  of  success. 
They  were,  in  the  first  instance,  Rainier  and  Guy,  monks  of  Ci- 
tcaux,  who  were  sent  in  1198,  with  the  title  of  legates,  into  the 
infected  countries.  In  1204,  Innocent  joined  to  them  Pierre  de 
Castelnau,  archdeacon  of  Maguelone,  with  full  powers.  But 
whatever  pains  they  took,  however  pressing  their  exhortations,  or 
severe  their  menaces,  their  mission  was  attended  with  little  success, 
till  the  Spaniard,  Dominic  Gusman,  who  thenceforward  became 
so  celebrated,  began  to  give  a  new  direction  to  their  proceedings. 

"  Considering,"  says  father  Tournon,  in  his  Life  of  Dominic, 
"  that  the  violent  methods  which  had  hitherto  been  adopted 
against  the  apostates,  had  only  served  to  irritate  them ;  that  the 
luxury  and  self-indulgence  of  the  Catholics  scandalized  both  the 
friends  and  enemies  of  the  Church ;  that  the  Albigenses  on  the 


DOMINIC  GUSMAN.  109 

contrary,  by  a  pious  exterior,  conciliated  the  confidence  of  the 
people  and  the  esteem  of  the  great ;  that  the  cupidity  and  disso- 
lute conduct  of  those  (the  priests)  whose  profession  engaged 
them  to  the  greatest  sanctity,  formed  a  deadly  taint  which  caused 
their  religion  to  be  blasphemed,  while  the  heretics,  believing  they 
might  discredit  the  doctrine  of  those  whose  manners  could  not 
be  respected,  made  use  of  this  state  of  things  to  cherish  in  igno- 
rant persons  that  spirit  of  revolt  with  which  they  had  inspired 
them  against  their  legitimate  pastors ;  Dominic  concluded  that 
he  must  make  use  of  persuasion  and  example  rather  than  terror, 
and  tread  in  the  steps  of  the  apostles,  by  preaching  and  living 
like  them,  always  travelling  on  foot,  like  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
without  equipage,  money,  or  provisions.  He  had  no  doubt  that 
such  a  line  of  conduct  would  prejudice  people  in  their  favour, 
and  would  gradually  reform  the  manners  of  the  clergy,  and  con- 
found the  hypocrisy  of  the  heretics." — Tournon,  Vie  de  St.  Domi- 
nique, liv.  v,  p.  36. 

This  advice  was  followed ;  bishops  and  legates  themselves  be- 
came missionaries,  and  not  without  some  success.  They  did  not 
even  shrink  from  public  disputes.  But  the  method  of  persuasion 
being  too  slow  to  satisfy  the  extravagant  hopes  that  were  enter- 
tained, and  deviating  too  much  from  the  exclusive  and  tyrannical 
proceedings  of  Rome,  the  legates  had  recourse  to  excommunica- 
tions and  the  employment  of  force. 

Everything  being  prepared,  Innocent  launched  his  thunders 
against  Raymond,  count  of  Toulouse,  whom  he  excommunicated, 
and  abused  him  in  an  outrageous  manifesto.  He,  at  the  same 
time,  urged  the  king  of  France,  the  dukes,  princes,  and  lords  of 
that  country  and  the  neighbourhood,  to  a  crusade  against  the 
heretics  ;  exciting  them  by  the  promise  of  plunder,  besides  mag- 
nificent and  eternal  rewards  in  heaven  for  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  which  they  should  shed.  In  obedience  to  his  orders,  in 
the  year  1209,  a  hundred  thousand  crusaders*  at  least,  under 
the  conduct  of  the  count  de  Montfort,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army,  and  Amalric,  abbot  of  Citeaux,  the  pope's  legate,  invaded 
the  heretical  territory  of  Languedoc. 

Dominic,  irritated  by  the  little  success  of  his  eloquence,  now 
loudly  demanded  the  infliction  of  temporal  chastisements  on 
those  whom  he  was  unable  to  convert.     With  a  crucifix  in  his 

*  Some  writers  give  a  much  higher  estimate  of  the  numbers  of  this  army. 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

hand,  he  showed  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  soldiers,  dressed  in 
a  long  white  robe  and  black  mantle,  as  the  inexorable  messenger 
of  war,  or  rather  as  the  befitting  agent  of  Antichrist.  To  hear 
him,  it  was  by  fire  and  sword  that  heaven  was  to  be  avenged. 
When,  in  the  first  campaign,  Beziers  was  taken  and  sacked,  in 
the  heat  of  the  massacre,  even  the  canons,  who  were  walking 
in  procession  to  meet  the  crusaders,  were  involved  in  the  same 
fate  as  the  heretics.  "  Kill  them  all,"  said  Amalric,  the  faithful 
legate  of  a  pitiless  pope ;  "  kill  them  all ;  the  Lordknoweth  them 
that  are  his !"  From  the  banks  of  the  Rhone  to  those  of  the  Lot, 
funeral  piles  were  continually  burning.  The  confiscation  of  their 
property,  tortures,  horrible  torments  and  flames,  were  reserved 
for  all  those  professing  the  so-called  heretical  doctrine,  whom 
the  sword  and  lance  had  not  slain  on  the  field  of  battle. 

While  bands  of  ferocious  and  greedy  warriors  attacked  the 
strong  places,  the  chateaux  and  cottages  of  the  Albigensian 
sectaries,  Foulques,  bishop  of  Toulouse,  and  his  associates  of 
Languedoc,  Dominic  and  his  disciples,  skilful  and  willing  in- 
struments of  Antichrist,  spied  out  by  means  of  their  emissaries, 
and  denounced,  examined,  and  condemned  unfortunate  persons, 
without  number,  whom  they  tore  from  their  families. 

Years  of  experience  having  shown  what  signal  services  an 
association  of  intriguing  monks,  accusers,  and  persecutors,  could 
render  to  the  cause  of  religious  oppression,  Innocent  III.,  in  the 
year  1215,  at  the  council  of  Lateran,  approved  of  the  plan  which 
Dominic  laid  before  him  of  founding  an  order  of  mendicant 
monks  and  preaching  friars,  for  the  conversion  and  suppression 
of  the  enemies  of  the  Church ;  and  in  the  following  year,  Hono- 
rius  III.,  the  successor  of  the  sanguinary  Innocent,  confirmed 
the  institution,  and  constituted  the  order.  These  preaching 
friars  were,  at  a  later  period,  called  Dominicans,  from  the  name 
of  their  founder,  and  received  special  privileges  for  the  extirpa- 
tion of  heretics.* 

To  spy  out  and  discover  the  unbelievers,  to  convince  them  of 
their  errors,  to  persuade  them  to  return  into  the  pale  of  the 
Church,  and,  if  they  refused,  to  draw  up  the  indictments,  to  ar- 
rest the  accused,  to  conduct  the  criminal  proceedings,  to  pass 

*  About  the  same  time  St.  Francois  d' Assise  founded  a  second  order  of 
mendicant  monks,  known  by  the  name  of  Minor  Friars  and  Franciscans.  They 
showed  themselves  to  be  worthy  rivals  of  the  Dominicans. 


THE  INQUISITION.  Ill 

sentence,  and  cause  it  to  be  executed  by  means  of  the  secular 
power;  such  were  the  functions  which  were  delegated  to  this 
order,  from  which  the  ever-execrable  tribunal  of  the  inquisition 
shortly  arose. 

From  the  year  1215,  the  Dominicans,  in  conjunction  with  the 
bishops,  began  to  celebrate  with  pomp  those  acts  of  faith,  (auto- 
da-fe,)  as  they  were  called,  by  a  deplorable  abuse  of  language, 
in  which  they  exhibited  the  persons  condemned  before  a  crowd 
of  spectators,  and  then  burned  them  with  apparent  devotion, 
according  to  the  customary  ceremonial  in  the  most  solemn  rites 
of  Roman  Catholicism. 

To  attain  the  end  for  which  their  order  was  instituted,  and  to 
show  themselves  worthy  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  them,  the 
Dominicans,  equally  malignant  and  fanatical,  went  through  the 
towns  and  districts  of  Languedoc,  establishing  provisionary  tri- 
bunals of  the  inquisition  in  different  places.  They  had  the 
barbarity  to  decide  that  the  children  of  heretics,  if  above  seven 
years  old,  might  be  sentenced  to  be  burned  to  death,  as  having, 
at  that  time  of  life,  reached  the  age  of  reason.  Cardinal  Con- 
rad, the  new  legate  of  the  pope  in  1222,  ardently  upheld  this 
sanguinary  tribunal.  The  fury  of  the  inquisitors  being  increased 
by  his  support,  exasperated  the  people  of  Languedoc  to  such  a 
pitch,  that  they  ran  to  arms  on  all  sides.  Conrad,  wielding  the 
thunderbolts  of  Rome,  launched  forth  excommunications,  called 
the  faithful  to  his  banner,  invoked  the  aid  of  war  and  de- 
struction, and  preached  a  new  crusade  against  the  Albigensian 
Vaudois. 

Raymond  VI.  was  dead,  and  so  was  his  enemy,  Simon  de 
Montfort;  their  sons,  Raymond  VII.  and  Amaury,  crossed  their 
swords  against  one  another  on  the  field  of  battle,  as  their  fathers 
had  done.  Louis  VIII.,  king  of  France,  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  friends  of  the  pope,  who  committed  unheard-of 
cruelties  in  every  quarter.  Louis  IX.,  whom  Rome  has  can- 
onized under  the  title  of  St.  Louis,  followed  in  the  same  track. 
Having  obtained  the  submission  of  the  count  of  Toulouse  and 
his  principal  allies,  the  ancient  supporters  of  the  Albigensian 
Vaudois,  he  issued  a  strong  ordinance  against  all  heretics.  They 
were  put  out  of  the  pale  of  the  common  law,  deprived  of  their 
civil  and  political  rights,  and  prosecuted.  Large  sums  were 
offered  to  persons  for  laying  informations  against  them,  or  arrest- 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ing  them.  The  council  of  Toulouse,  of  the  year  1229,  took 
similar  measures  in  reference  to  the  ecclesiastical  administration 
and  the  rights  of  the  Church.  It  specially  interdicted  laymen 
from  keeping  in  their  possession  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  with  the  exception  of  the  Psalms.  They  were  for- 
bidden, above  all,  to  translate  any  part  of  them  into  the  Romance 
language- 
Heresy,  notwithstanding,  was  not  destroyed;  it  even  made 
progress  in  some  parts  of  the  desolated  countries.  Gregory  IX., 
the  Roman  pontiff,  attributed  the  ill  success  of  the  measures 
against  it  to  the  negligence  of  the  bishops,  who  were  more  occu- 
pied about  their  temporal  affairs  than  the  welfare  of  their  flocks. 
He  resolved,  therefore,  to  take  from  them  the  cognizance  of  the 
fact  of  heresy,  and  to  vest  it  solely  in  the  preaching  friars ;  this 
immense  power  he  granted  by  a  decree,  dated  April  12, 1233,  to 
the  disciples  of  Dominic,  in  the  diocese  of  Toulouse  principally, 
and  in  the  archbishoprics  of  Bourges,*  Bordeaux,  Aix,  Aries, 
Auch,  Narbonne,  Vienne,  and  Embrun.  He  placed  the  inqui- 
sitors under  the  special  protection  of  the  counts  of  Toulouse, 
Foix,  and  other  lords,  as  well  as  the  seneschals  of  France ;  re- 
quiring the  latter  to  render  their  assistance  whenever  it  was 
called  for.  As  a  sequel  to  this  ordinance,  tribunals  of  the  in- 
quisition were  established  and  made  permanent  at  Toulouse, 
Carcassone,  Avignon,  Montpellier,  Albi,  and  Cahors.  Their 
authority  was  everywhere  recognized,  and  even  at  the  last  crea- 
tion of  the  parliament  at  Toulouse,  in  1444,  their  sentences  were 
executed  without  appeal. 

Is- it  necessary  to  add,  that  the  Dominicans  showed  them- 
eelves  worthy  of  the  pontifical  confidence  ?  They  displayed 
unequalled  zeal,  indescribable  severity,  limiting  themselves  to  no 
rule,  or  rather  breaking  all  rules.  They  dived  into  the  secrets 
of  families,  set  relations;  and  friends  against  one  another,  ex- 
asperated and  overwhelmed  all  generous  minds  with  anguish. 
The  prisons  were  crowded  with  victims,  and  often  required  to 
be  enlarged ;  funeral  piles  were  reared  in  all  parts.  Every  one 
who  did  not  renounce  his  convictions,  or  who  did  not  succeed  in 
concealing  himself,  or  dissembling  his  belief,  perished  in  the 
flames,  or  pined  away  in  a  dungeon.  It  is  estimated,  that,  in  the 
first  fifty  years  of  this  century,  a  million  of  Albigenses  lost  their 
*  Places,  no  doubt,  where  the  progress  of  heresy  was  most  strongly  marked. 


THE  VAUDOIS  OF  GERMANY.  113 

lives,  victims  of  the  hatred,  barbarity,  and  superstition  of  the 
Romish  Church. 

These  statements  are  mostly  taken  from  the  History  of  the  In- 
quisition in  France,  by  M.  de  la  Mothe-Langon,  Paris,  1829. 

Alas !  in  exterminating  or  imprisoning  the  majority  of  the 
Vaudois  Christians,  and  in  giving  them  no  rest  in  the  very  spots 
where  their  labours  had  been  most  successful,  their  persecutors 
succeeded  in  stopping  the  progress  of  that  glorious  awakening 
which  the  return  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  to  the  sound  and 
ancient  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  had  produced.  They  nattered 
themselves,  no  doubt,  that  they  had  stifled  it  altogether. 

The  Vaudois  of  Germany  had  also  their  turn,  and  could  not 
escape  persecution.  Eighty  persons  were  apprehended  in  Stras- 
burgh  alone,  of  whom  the  greater  part  were  delivered  to  the 
flames.  The  famous  inquisitor,  Conrad  de  Marpurg,  adopted  a 
sure  method  of  convicting  the  accused,  by  subjecting  them  to 
the  ordeal  of  heated  iron.  In  the  year  1233,  a  great  number  of 
heretics  were  burned  in  different  parts  of  Germany  by  the  ex- 
ertions of  this  preaching  monk  and  inquisitor,  who  at  last  paid 
for  the  sufferings  he  had  inflicted  by  a  violent  death.  In  the 
course  of  this  century,  the  same  punishments  were  often  renewed. 
Matthew  Paris  reports,  that,  in  the  year  1249,  four  hundred  and 
forty-three  heretics  were  condemned  to  the  flames  in  Saxony  and 
Pomerania- 

Among  the  victims  belonging  to  Germany,  to  the  astonishment 
of  the  spectators,  an  inquisitor,  the  monk  Echard,  an  ancient  per- 
secutor of  the  Vaudois,  took  his  place  at  the  stake.  During  the 
very  time  that  he  was  putting  interrogatories  to  persons  accused 
of  heresy,  the  Spirit  of  God  touched  his  heart ;  their  constancy 
in  the  midst  of  their  sufferings  made  him  yield  to  the  gospel :  an 
illustrious  triumph  of  the  faith  ! — We  are  without  information  as 
to  what  took  place  in  Italy. 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  VAUDOIS,  RETREATING  FROM  PERSECUTION,  FOUND  COLO- 
NIES IN  THE  ALPS. 

The  Vaudois,  persecuted  in  the  south  of  France  with  unparal- 
leled and  incessant  violence,  sighed  after  some  repose.  Many 
of  them  had  found  a  temporary  refuge  in  the  domains  of  the  king 
of  Aragon ;  others  had  migrated  into  different  provinces  of  France, 
as  Picardy,  Burgundy,  Lorraine,  Alsace ;  into  different  parts  of 
Germany ;  into  Bohemia  especially,  and  even  into  Poland ;  others 
had  taken  refuge  in  Lombardy,  and  the  Italian  cities  which  were 
more  particularly  under  the  influence  of  the  Ghibelines,  and  where, 
consequently,  the  papal  power  had  less  influence,  and  where  in- 
testine dissensions,  as  well  as  external  contests,  left  the  clergy  no 
leisure  for  indulging  in  persecution. — Perrin,  Histoiredes  Vaudois, 
pp.  233-246.  Histoire  de  V Inquisition  en  France,  par  de  la Mothe- 
Langon,  t.  ii,  p.  587. 

A  great  number  took  refuge  in  that  part  of  the  Alps  which 
forms  the  frontier  of  France  and  Italy,  the  same  Vaudois  valleys 
where  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  gospel  had  been  preserved  from 
before  the  time  of  Constantine,  and  had  been  propagated  far  and 
wide  by  its  missionaries  during  the  preceding  centuries.  They 
filled  with  their  weeping  families  the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  Angro- 
gna,  and  San  Martino,  that  of  Pragela  or  the  Clusone,  the  high 
valley  of  the  Po,  those  of  Susa,  Fraissiniere,  and  PArgentiere, 
the  vale  of  Loyse  (or  Louise)  or  Pute,  where  their  brethren  in 
the  faith  had  been  already  established  for  centuries,  and  where 
we  shall  very  soon  meet  with  them  again. 

The  multitude  of  the  refugees  in  that  quarter  became  so  large, 
that  the  land  could  not  support  them.  It  was  necessary  to  plan 
new  migrations,  to  find  an  outlet  for  this  superabundance  of  popu- 
lation. Different  causes,  which  our  distance  from  this  period  and 
the  want  of  documents  prevent  our  appreciating,  directed  num- 
bers of  the  Vaudois  towards  the  southern  extremity  of  Italy,  to 
Apulia  and  Calabria,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples. — Hist,  de  V Inqui- 
sition en  France,  t.  ii,  p.  613.     Grilles,  Hist.  Eccles.,  p.  18. 

The  province  of  Calabria,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  where 
the  Vaudois  founded  one  of  their  principal  colonies,  is  a  beauti- 


SITUATION  OF  THE  COLONIES.  115 

ful  country,  protected  by  mountains,  and  formed  of  smiling  val- 
leys and  fertile  plains.  Orange-trees  and  olives  display  their 
fruit  not  far  from  chestnuts  and  larches.  The  persons  who  were 
sent  to  explore  the  district  came  back  equally  satisfied  with  its 
fertility,  and  the  conditions  of  settlement  offered  by  the  lords  of 
the  soil.  An  advantageous  treaty  for  the  colonists  was  soon  con- 
cluded, and  a  considerable  number  of  Yaudois  prepared  for  their 
departure.     The  young  people  married  before  they  emigrated. 

On  their  arrival,  they  founded  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mon- 
talto  a  town  called  Borgo  d'Oltramontani,  or  Oltromontani ;  that 
is,  the  town  of  the  Ultramontanes,  because  the  new  settlers  ori- 
ginally dwelt  beyond  the  Apennines.  The  stream  of  emigration 
continuing  to  flow  in  the  same  direction,  the  Vaudois  built,  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  first  town,  another  called  San  Sesto,  af- 
terwards the  site  of  one  of  their  most  celebrated  churches.  They 
also  founded  Argentino,  La  Rocca,  Vacarisso,  and  San  Vincente. 
At  length,  the  marquis  Spinello  permitted  them  to  build  Guardia, 
a  walled  city,  which  has  retained  the  name  of  Guardia-Lombarda, 
situated  on  an  eminence  near  the  sea ;  and  he  granted  important 
privileges  to  the  inhabitants,  so  that,  in  time,  it  became  opulent 
and  considerable.  The  Vaudois,  or  Ultramontanes,  as  the  natives 
called  them,  increased  greatly,  and  prospered  for  a  length  of 
years  in  their  happy  colony. 

More  than  a  century  later,  about  the  year  1400,  in  consequence 
of  the  severities  practised  by  -the  inquisition  in  Provence  and 
Dauphine,  under  the  eyes  of  the  popes  at  Avignon,  the  Vaudois 
who  had  fled  from  these  provinces  into  the  valleys,  determined 
on  a  new  emigration  into  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  where  they 
founded  in  Apulia,  the  five  small  cities  of  Monilone,  Montanato, 
Faito,  La  Cella,  and  La  Motta.  Lastly,  about  the  year  1500,  the 
Vaudois  of  Fraissiniere  and  other  valleys,  to  escape  persecution, 
established  themselves  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  brethren, 
in  the  valley  of  Volturata.  Thus  we  may  understand  how,  from 
these  different  centres,  the  Vaudois  could  spread  themselves  all 
over  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  and  even  to  Sicily.  We  shall  give 
an  account,  in  the  sequel,  of  their  lamentable  end.* 

These  colonies  maintained  direct  and  constant  relation  with 
the  Vaudois  of  the  valleys,  who  provided  them  with  pastors,  ac- 
cording to  the  decision  of  their  synods.  According  to  their  es- 
*  Gilles,  Histojre  Eccles.,  p.  18,  and  following. 


116  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

tablished  custom,  the  barbes,  or  pastors,  undertook  their  distant 
journey  by  two  and  two — one  of  them  advanced  in  years,  already 
acquainted  with  places  and  persons,  and  experienced  in  practical 
matters ;  the  other  younger,  in  order  to  be  trained  to  his  vocation. 
Both  in  going  and  returning  they  visited  the  faithful  who  were 
scattered  through  the  towns  and  country  places  of  Italy,  exhort- 
ing and  consoling  them ;  a  proceeding  not  entirely  unknown  to 
their  adversaries.*  The  barbes  of  the  valleys  possessed  a  house 
in  each  of  the  cities  of  Florence,  Genoa,  and  Venice,f  and  pro- 
bably elsewhere ;  but  it  was  only  at  intervals,  when  the  pastors 
were  passing  through  on  their  missionary  travels,  that  the  faith- 
ful of  these  cities  and  other  places  fully  enjoyed  an  evangelical 
ministry ;  while,  according  to  all  appearance,  the  colonies  of 
Apulia  and  Calabria  retained  for  a  continuance,  till  they  were 
replaced,  the  pastors  who  had  been  sent  to  them  by  a  preceding 
synod. 

At  a  period  not  exactly  known,  towards  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  perhaps  at  the  commencement  or  in  the 
course  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  "Wnuloia  of  the  valleys,  to 
remedy  the  inconvenience  resulting  from  their  being  crowded 
within  too  small  a  compass,  turned  their  thoughts  again  towards 
Provence,  which  many  of  their  forefathers  had  been  forced  to 
quit  during  the  crusades  against  the  Albigenses.  Fertile  though 
uncultivated  lands  in  the  inhabited  valleys  that  border  on  the 
river  Durance  to  the  east  of  Cavaillon,  having  been  granted  to 
their  deputies  by  the  proprietors  on  advantageous  conditions, 
they  sent  thither  the  surplus  of  their  population.  Their  in- 
dustry, integrity,  and  exemplary  conduct  were  recompensed 
by  unexampled  prosperity.^     Cabrieres,  Merindol,  Lormarin, 

*  Gilles  relates  that  a  barbe  of  his  name  having  gone  into  a  church  at  Florence, 
heard  a  monk  who  was  preaching  exclaim :  "  O  Florence  !  What  does  Florence 
mean  ?  The  flower  of  Italy.  And  so  thou  wast  till  these  Ultramontanes  per- 
suaded thee  that  man  is  justified  by  faith,  and  not  by  works  ;  and  herein  they 
lie."— Gilles,  p.  20. 

tin  the  list  which  Perrin  gives  of  the  barbes,  about  the  year  1602,  we  find 
among  those  whose  memory  was  preserved  for  more  than  three  hundred  years, 
one  named  Jehan,  from  the  valley  of  Lucema,  who  was  suspended  for  some 
fault  from  his  office  for  seven  years,  during  which  time  he  stayed  at  Genoa, 
where  the  barbes  had  a  house,  as  they  also  had  a  handsome  one  at  Florence. — 
Perrin,  p.  66. 

t  The  exact  date  of  the  founding  of  these  colonies  is  uncertain.  According 
to  Camerarius,  who  reckons  that  they  had  in  his  time  existed  two  hundred  years, 


DWELLINGS  OF  THE  VAUDOIS.  117 

Cadenet,  Gordes,  towns  of  considerable  size,  were  successively- 
founded  and  enlarged  by  them. 

It  will  appear  from  this  recital,  that  the  Vaudois  Church,  in 
spite  of  the  dreadful  persecutions  it  had  endured,  especially  in 
the  south  of  France,  was  yet  so  strong  and  numerous,  and  spread 
over  so  many  places,  that  it  might  have  been  hoped  that  the 
sound  doctrine  and  purity  of  worship  transmitted  by  its  means 
from  the  times  of  Constantine  the  Great,  would  long  maintain 
the  struggle  against  the  efforts  of  Babylon  the  Great ;  but  the 
hour  was  come  when  Rome  proceeded  to  attack  the  Vaudois  of 
the  Alps  in  their  retreats,  and  thus  threatened  a  fatal  blow  to 
the  militant,  and  already  much  enfeebled,  Church. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

FIRST  PERSECUTIONS  KNOWN,  AGAINST  THE  VAUDOIS  OF  PIED- 
MONT, IN  THE  FOURTEENTH  AND  FIFTEENTH  CENTURIES. 

The  churches  of  Vaudois  origin  being  in  ruins  in  the  south  of 
France,  and  on  the  point  of  dissolution  wherever  the  emissaries 
of  Rome  had  free  access,  the  moment  seemed  come  for  pursuing 
these  defenders  of  the  evangelical  faith  to  extremities  among  the 
retired  mountains,  in  the  bosom  of  which  a  considerable  part  of 
them  lay,  as  it  were,  intrenched.  They  occupied,  halfway  be- 
tween Turin  and  Grenoble,  the  two  declivities  of  the  Alps  which 
incline  to  the  east  and  west  of  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  mountains 
Genevre  and  Viso.  Their  humble  dwellings,  erected  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains,  either  in  groups  or  scattered,  reached  to 
the  bottom  of  the  valleys.  To  the  west,  among  the  woods  of  the 
high  Alps  of  Dauphine  and  Provence,  the  most  elevated  and  re- 
tired valleys  were  inhabited  wholly,  or  at  least  in  great  part,  by 
the  Vaudois.  In  the  diocese  of  Embrun,  in  particular,  there  was 
not  a  valley  without  some  of  their  churches.  But  the  most  noted 
were,  the  High  Valley  of  the  Durance,  and  the  adjacent  glens 
of  Argentiere,  Fraissiniere,  and  Loyse,  or  Pute. 

To  the  east,  all  the  glens  and  valleys  which  descend  from  the 

they  must  have  been  formed  in  1345.  De  Thou  assigns  them  a  duration  of  three 
hundred  years,  which  would  place  their  origin  as  far  back  as  about  1245.  (Ca- 
merarius  de  Excidio,  etc  ;  and  De  Thou,  i,  293.) 


118  HISTOHY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

High  Alps  to  the  plain  towards  Pinerolo  and  Saluzzo,  those 
which  are  watered  by  the  Clusone  and  the  Germanasca,  the 
Pelice  and  the  Grana,  tributaries  of  the  Po,  and  by  the  Po  it- 
self—namely, the  vale  of  Pragela,  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  the 
vale  of  Angrogna,  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  that  of  the  Po,  and  of 
Bagnolo,  etc.,  were  then,  and  had  been  for  centuries,  the  earthly 
fatherland  of  the  faithful  Vaudois  of  Piedmont. 

Into  these  ancient  and  venerable  retreats  of  the  pure  faith, 
the  pretended  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
and  the  Prince  of  peace,  planned  to  carry  a  cruel  persecution. 
This  scourge  had  already  approached  several  times,  and  caused 
many  tears  in  the  district  of  Embrun,  and,  no  doubt,  in  the 
plains  of  Piedmont  also,  though  history  is  silent  respecting  it. 
But  the  hour  was  come  for  it  to  burst  on  the  mountain  region 
of  the  ancient  diocese  of  Claude  of  Turin — the  very  spot  where 
the  light  of  truth  was  still  burning. 

Pope  John  XXII.,  was  desirous  of  prosecuting  the  work  begun 
by  Innocent  III.,  and,  to  do  it  systematically,  ordered  Jean  de 
Badis,  inquisitor  at  Marseilles,  to  join  his  efforts  with  those  of 
Albert  de  Castellatio,  who  resided  in  Piedmont  in  the  same 
capacity.  In  his  bull,  dated  in  the  year  1332,  this  pope  directed 
his  legate's  attention  to  the  Valdenses,  or  Vaudois,  of  the  valleys 
of  Lucerna  and  Perosa.  He  complained  of  the  increase  of  these 
heretics,  of  their  frequent  meetings  in  the  form  of  chapters,  (pro- 
bably by  this  term  he  meant  their  synods,)  at  which  as  many  as 
five  hundred  persons  were  often  present.  He  accused  them  of 
having  killed  the  rector  Guillaume,  after  mass,  in  a  place  that 
he  calls  Villa,*  and  of  having  risen  against  the  inquisitor  De 
Castellatio,  when  about  to  exercise  his  office.  A  detailed  ac- 
count of  this  first  attempt  at  persecution  against  the  valleys  of 
Lucerna  and  Perosa  has  not  come  down  to  us.  All  we  know  of 
this  expedition,  as  having  really  occurred,  is,  that  De  Badis  suc- 
ceeded in  entrapping  Martin  Pastre,  one  of  the  Vaudois  leaders, 
whom  he  sent  to  Marseilles  and  imprisoned ;  but,  by  the  pope's 
orders,  he  recalled  him  to  Piedmont,  to  be  judged  by  Albert  de 

*  Rorengo  says  that  Guillaume  was  slain  at  Angrogna,  where  he  was  rector, 
and  that  he  was  taken  off  for  having  given  information  of  the  heresy  to  Castel- 
latio. We  can  assert  that  there  is  no  locality  at  Angrogna  answering  to  the 
name  of  Villa,  but  there  does  exist  a  town  called  Villaro  to  the  west  of  La 
Torre. 


PERSECUTION  CONTINUES.  119 

Castellatio,  and  subjected  to  torture,  if  needful,  in  order  to  de- 
nounce his  associates. — De  la  Mothe-Langon,  t.  iii,  p.  217. — 
Leger,  part  ii,  p.  20. 

In  1352,  Pope  Clement  VI.  gave  it  in  charge  to  William,  arch- 
bishop of  Embrun,  and  Pierre  de  Mont,  Franciscan  friar  and 
inquisitor,  to  extinguish  heresy.  The  lords,  judges,  and  consuls 
(syndics)  of  the  province  were  invited  to  lend  him  their  aid. 

The  pope  also  urged  the  dauphin,  Charles  of  France,  Louis, 
king  of  Naples,  and  queen  Joanna,  his  wife,  to  persecute  the 
heretics.  The  invitation  addressed  to  the  queen  of  Naples,  who 
possessed  territory  in  the  marquisate  of  Saluzzo,  near  the  val- 
leys, adds  a  fresh  presumption  to  the  evidence  we  have  already 
given  of  the  existence  of  the  Vaudois  in  many  parts  of  this  mar- 
quisate.— Monumenta  Historian  Patrice,  t.  iii,  p.  860. 

These  solicitations,  also,  of  the  court  of  Avignon,  had  not,  at 
this  time,  the  results  that  were  hoped  for. 

Two  years  later,  James,  prince  of  Acqui,  of  the  house  of  Savoy, 
ordered  Balangero  and  Ueto  Rorengo  to  imprison  those  of  the 
Vaudois  sect  who  had  been  discovered  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna 
and  the  neighbouring  valleys. 

Urgent  appeals  for  the  destruction  of  heresy  were  continually 
addressed  by  the  papal  court  at  Avignon  to  the  secular  autho- 
rities. But,  far  from  displaying  the  requisite  zeal,  both  ma- 
gistrates and  people  seemed  to  lean  to  the  side  of  clemency. 
Gregory  XI.,  when  writing,  in  1373,  to  Charles  V.,  the  king  of 
France,  to  complain  of  his  officers  for  thwarting  the  inquisitors 
in  Dauphine,  says,  "  They  put  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  in- 
quisitors, forcing  them  to  hold  their  tribunal  in  places  exposed 
to  the  attacks  of  the  enemies  of  the  faith ;  not  permitting  them  to 
institute  proceedings  against  the  heretics  without  the  concur- 
rence of  the  civil  judges,  and  constraining  them  to  reveal  the 
secrets  of  their  proceedings.  They  release  condemned  sectaries 
from  prison ;  they  even  refuse  to  take  an  oath  to  act  against  these 
obstinate  people.  Lose  no  time,"  he  adds,  "  to  rectify  such  pro- 
ceedings, under  pain  of  drawing  down  upon  you  the  indignation 
of  the  holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul."* 

But  though  the  inquisitors,  who  were  commissioned  to  extirpate 

*De  la  Mothe-Langon,  t.  iii,  pp.  270,  271.  It  may  easily  be  imagined  that 
the  interests  of  the  secular  princes  did  not  always  coincide  with  those  of  the 
pope. 


1'20  Hig'iORY  01  THE   VAUDOIS. 

the  Vaudois  laith,  were  often  ill  seconded,  yet  they  made  many 
victims,  and  caused  much  suffering. 

These  incessant  severities  and  excessive  acts  of  violence  im- 
pelled the  Yaudois,  in  1375,  to  make  some  deplorable  reprisals. 
They  attacked  the  city  of  Susa,  forced  the  convent  of  the  Domi- 
nicans, and  put  the  inquisitor  to  death.  They  are  likewise  ac- 
cused of  having  taken  the  life  of  another  inquisitor  of  Turin,  per- 
haps near  Bricherasco,  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna.* 

The  great  schism  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  took  place  in 
1378,  by  the  election  of  two  popes,  Urban  VI.  at  Rome,  and 
Clement  VII.  at  Avignon,  did  not  occasion  any  abatement  in  the 
persecution.  The  inquisitor,  Borelli,  having  in  vain  cited  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Fraissiniere,  Argentiere,  and  the  vale  of  Loyse, 
to  his  tribunal,  caused  a  great  number  to  be  arrested.  By  his 
orders  one  hundred  and  fifty  Vaudois  men  were  brought  to  Greno- 
ble and  burned  alive,  besides  many  women,  girls,  and  even  young 
children,  all  of  the  vale  of  Loyse.  In  the  valleys  of  Argentiere 
and  Fraissiniere,  eighty  victims,  men  and  women,  were  handed 
over  to  the  secular  power ;  and  such  was  the  determination  to 
punish  them,  that,  in  many  cases,  they  were  executed  without 
any  other  sentence  than  a  general  declaration  of  being  criminals 
furnished  by  the  holy  office.  "  There  is  evidence,"  writes  a  ca- 
tholic author,  "  that  many  accused  persons  were  thrown  into 
prison  only  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  on  their  property.  Blood 
or  gold,"  he  adds ;  "  this  is  what  the  inquisition  required."f 

The  same  inquisitor,  Borelli,  or  Borille,  has  been  accused  of 
having  practised  great  cruelties  in  Susa,  at  the  head  of  an  armed 
troop,  and  particularly  of  having  laid  waste  the  valley  of  Pragela, 
or  Clusone,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  at  the  Christmas  of  the  year 
1400.  The  Vaudois  historians  lay  the  odium  of  this  attack  on 
people  belonging  to  the  valley  of  Susa.J  The  peaceable  inhabit- 
ants of  Pragela,  unexpectedly  assailed,  at  a  season  of  the  year 
when  they  fancied  themselves  protected  by  the  snows  which 
covered  the  ridges  and  declivities  of  the  mountains,  could  only 
flee  with  the  utmost  haste,  men,  women,  and  children,  to  the 
heights  and  rocky  steeps.     The  fugitives,  being  pursued  without 

*  De  la  Mothe-Langon,  t.  iii,  p.  278.— Monumenta  Historic  Patrke,  t.  iii,  p.  861. 

Rorengo,  in  PHistoire  de  Pignero],  by  Massi,  t.  ii,  p.  35. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  289.— Perrin,  Hist,  de  Vaudois,  p.  114. 

tThe  storm  came  thence,  but  they  may  have  been  ignorant  of  its  cause. 


PERSECUTION  CONTINUED.  121 

intermission  till  nightfall,  fell,  many  of  them  by  the  sword  of  the 
enemy,  or  were  taken  prisoners;  others,  still  more  wretched, 
perished  miserably  of  hunger  and  cold  on  the  rocks,  covered  with 
snow  and  ice.  The  most  numerous  company  fleeing  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Macel,  in  the  vale  of  San  Martino,  passed  the  night  on  a 
lofty  mountain,  on  a  spot  still  called  the  Albergan,  or  the  Refuge. 
The  heart  is  pained  at  the  recital  of  their  sufferings.  Let  it 
suffice  to  say,  that  in  the  morning  fifty  poor  little  children  (some 
say  eighty)  were  found  dead  with  cold ;  some  in  their  cradles, 
others  in  the  frozen  arms  of  their  poor  mothers,  lifeless  like  them- 
selves.— De  la  MotJie-Langon,  t.  iii,  p.  295. — Perrin,  p.  116. — Le- 
ger.  part  ii,  p.  7. 

The  popish  troops,  who  had  passed  the  night  in  the  dwellings 
abandoned  by  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  of  Clusone,  the  next 
day  took  the  road  to  Susa,  laden  with  plunder,  and  destroying 
what  they  could  not  carry  off.  They  are  charged  with  having 
hung  on  a  tree  a  poor  aged  Vaudois  woman,  Marguerite  Athode, 
whom  they  met  with  on  the  mountain  of  Meane. 

This  bloody  incursion,  when  it  was  noised  abroad,  terrified  the 
people  of  Dauphine*  and  Piedmont,  and  at  the  same  time  roused 
their  indignation.  They  manifested  their  sentiments  with  so 
much  energy,  that  the  pope  enjoined  on  the  inquisitor  to  moderate 
his  zeal  and  to  exercise  more  prudence,  from  an  apprehension 
that  heresy  might  make  still  greater  progress.  This  general  dis- 
satisfaction and  these  remonstrances  lead  us  to  suppose  that  even 
the  Roman  Catholic  population  had  suffered  from  this  expedition, 
in  which  no  particular  care  had  been  taken  to  spare  them. 

It  would  seem  that  the  persecution  directed  against  the  Vau- 
dois died  away  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  to  be  re- 
vived, at  the  close  of  it,  with  fresh  violence. 

About  the  year  1460,  the  archbishop  of  Embrun  commissioned 
the  Franciscan  monk,  John  Veleti,  or  Veileti,  to  take  measures 
against  the  survivors  in  Fraissiniere,  Argentiere,  and  the  vale  of 
Loyse.  He  discharged  his  mission  with  so  much  barbarity,  par- 
tiality, and  bad  faith,  that  he  irritated  and  troubled  the  whole 
country,  and  complaints  were  made  against  him  to  king  Louis  XL 
In  the  examination  of  accused  persons,  he  altered  and  dictated 
their  answers  to  his  questions  without  scruple.  For  example : 
if  an  accused  person  were  asked — Do  you  believe  that,  after  the 
sacramental  words  have  been  pronounced  by  the  priest  at  mass, 

6 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  body  of  Christ  is  in  the  host  ?  if  the  Vaudois  replied,  No ; 
Veleti  would  write  down  or  dictate, — The  accused  confesses  that 
he  does  not  believe  in  God.  This  iniquitous  priest  made  many 
faithful  disciples  of  the  Lord  pass  through  the  fire. — Be  la  Mothe- 
Langon,  t.  iii,  loc.  cit. 

Under  the  government  of  Louis  of  Savoy,  between  1440  and 
1465,  twenty-two  females,  denounced  as  Gazaris,  or  Vaudois, 
were  burned  at  Coni,  as  having  relapsed.  They  belonged  to  Ber- 
nezzo,  (Burnecium,)  a  town  of  the  neighbourhood,  in  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  expression  of  a  Roman  Catholic  Piedmontese  au- 
thor, the  heresy  of  the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons  was  rank.  We  notice 
this  fact,  because  it  is  one  of  a  small  number,  and  among  the  last 
of  those  which  show  that  the  Vaudois  Church  formerly  extended 
in  Piedmont,  towards  the  south,  far  beyond  its  present  limits. — 
Rorengo,  in  VHistoire  de  Pignerol,  t.  ii. 

At  the  instigation  of  Giovanni  Compesio,  and  of  the  inquisitor 
Andrea  di  Aquapendente,  who,  on  Nov.  28, 1475,  had  published 
very  severe  bulls  against  the  Vaudois,  the  duchess  Iolante,  a 
French  princess,  widow  of  Amedee-le-Bienheureux,  and  gura- 
dian  of  his  son  Charles,  ordered,  in  January,  1476,  the  governors 
of  Pinerolo  and  Cavor,  and  the  podesta  (the  head  of  the  police) 
of  Lucerna,  and  her  other  officers  in  these  districts,  to  take  ac- 
tive measures  for  the  suppression  of  heretics.  In  her  ordinance, 
the  duchess  thus  expresses  herself:  "It  is  our  pleasure  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna  especially  may  be  able  to 
enter  (venire  possint)  into  the  bosom  of  the  holy  mother  Church." 
The  expression  enter  (not  return)  might  lead  us  to  suppose  that 
up  to  this  time  there  had  not  yet  been  any  thought  of  denying 
the  simultaneous  and  prior  existence  of  the  Vaudois  Church  with 
that  of  Rome. — Raccolta  degli  Editi,  etc. ;  Stamperia  Sinibaldo,  etc. 

These  orders  were  executed,  and  it  frequently  happened  that 
the  Vaudois,  when  they  ventured  beyond  their  valleys  for  com- 
mercial or  other  purposes,  were  seized  and  delivered  to  the  in- 
quisitors, who  did  not  fail  to  put  some  of  them  to  death.  The 
consequence  was,  that  there  was  hardly  a  city  in  Piedmont  in 
which  some  of  their  number  were  not  punished.  Jordan  Ter- 
tian, a  barbe,  or  pastor,  was  burned  at  Susa.  Hippolyte  Rous- 
sier  mounted  the  funeral  pile  at  Turin.  Villermin  Ambroise 
was  hung  at  the  defile  of  Meane,  and  so  was  Anthoine  Hiun. 
Ugon  Chiamp  of  Fenestrelles  was  taken  at  Susa,  and  brought  to 


CRUSADE  OF  ALBERT  DE  CAPITANEIS.  123 

Turin.  There,  being  tied  to  a  stake,  his  bowels  were  taken  out 
and  placed  in  a  large  vessel:  his  martyrdom  was  soon  accom- 
plished.— Leger,  part  ii,  p.  7. 

But  what  could  these  single  acts  of  severity  effect  towards 
satisfying  the  impatience  of  Rome  ?  How  could  a  little  blood  ap- 
pease the  wrath  of  the  irreconcilable  enemy  of  the  Vaudois — 
an  enemy  who  could  put  on  a  level  with  crimes  punishable  by 
the  edge  of  the  sword  or  by  fire,  the  claim  of  evangelical  Chris- 
tians to  think  for  themselves,  and  the  assertion  of  the  right  of 
examination  in  matters  of  faith  ?  Her  pride  was  interested  in 
continuing  the  war  which  her  jealousy,  her  thirst  of  power,  her 
avarice,  and  her  hatred,  had  begun.  But,  to  render  her  triumph 
certain,  it  was  necessary  that  the  attack,  from  being  partial,  local, 
crafty,  and  slow,  should  become  general,  violent,  rapid,  and  ter- 
rible. An  expedition  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which  annihilated 
the  Albigenses,  was  resolved  upon  against  these  thousands  of 
labourers  and  herdsmen,  whose  firm  and  unwavering  faith  had 
resisted  the  assaults  of  the  Romish  superstition,  as  the  lofty  sum- 
mits of  their  mountains  withstood  the  threatening  storms,  and  the 
shock  of  winds  and  tempests. 

Innocent  VIII.,  a  worthy  successor  of  that  Innocent  HI.,  who 
proclaimed  the  first  crusade  against  the  Christians,  charged 
Albert  de  Capitaneis,  archdeacon  of  Cremona,  with  the  exe- 
cution of  his  cruel  projects,  and  gave  him  the  inquisitor  Blaise 
de  Bena,  of  the  order  of  preaching  monks,  as  his  colleague.  He 
accredited  them  to  the  king  of  France  and  the  duke  of  Savoy,  as 
well  as  to  all  the  lords,  as  nuncios  and  apostolic  commissioners  in 
their  domains,  and  especially  in  Dauphine  and  Piedmont,  to  pro- 
ceed against  that  most  pernicious  and  abominable  sect  of  mis- 
chievous persons,  called  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  or  Vaudois,  "  which," 
he  says  in  his  bull,  "  has  unhappily  for  a  long  time  been  pre- 
valent in  Piedmont,  and  the  neighbouring  parts."  And  though 
he  acknowledges  that  the  objects  of  his  wrath  possessed  an  ap- 
pearance of  sanctity,  he  orders  them  to  be  crushed  like  veno- 
mous snakes,  and  to  be  exterminated  if  they  refuse  to  abjure.* 

The  papal  bull  promised,  as  a  recompense  to  all  those  princes, 

lords,  or  others,  who  should  arm  themselves  with  the  buckler  of 

the  orthodox  faith,  and  bring  help   to  the  aforesaid  legates, 

plenary  indulgence,  remission  of  their  sins  once  in  their  lifetime, 

*  Extract  from  the  bull  of  Innocent  VIII.,  Leger,  part  ii,  p.  8. 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

and  the  same  in  the  article  of  death ;  and,  what  was  not  less 
tempting,  it  granted  permission  to  each  person  to  appropriate  to 
himself  any  possessions  of  the  heretics,  whether  lands  or  goods.* 

Very  soon  nothing  was  heard  of  but  the  bull  of  Innocent  VIII. 
All  the  countries  that  bordered  on  the  Cottian  Alps  resounded 
with  it.  At  Embrun,  Susa,  Pinerolo,  Turin,  Vienne  in  Dau- 
phine',  Lyons,  and  even  at  Sion  in  Valois,  nothing  was  talked 
of  but  the  approaching  crusade.  The  whole  population  was 
roused.  Charles  VIII.,  king  of  France,  and  Charles  II.,  duke 
of  Savoy,  sanctioned  the  expedition,  and  the  lords  made  pre- 
parations for  it.  A  numerous  army  was  on  the  march  to  sur- 
round the  fortress  of  heresy  on  all  sides,  and  attack  it  simul- 
taneously. Albert  de  Capitaneis,  armed  with  sufficient  powers, 
called  forth,  urged,  and  directed  the  crusaders.  Who  could 
hope  to  escape  a  heart  so  hard,  and  a  hand  so  strong  ? 

The  year  1488  was  destined  to  be  a  time  of  sore  distress  to 
the  Vaudois,  and  of  everlasting  shame  to  Rome.  De  Capitaneis 
had  two  bodies  of  soldiers  under  his  orders:  one,  formed  in 
France,  was  designed  to  invade  the  valleys  of  Dauphine",  and  to 
come  in  aid  of  the  other,  which,  setting  out  from  Piedmont,  was 
to  surround  the  eastern  valleys,  and,  approaching  the  French 
frontiers  in  a  semicircle,  would  destroy  all  the  heretics  on  its  way. 

The  first  of  these  divisions,  commanded  by  Count  de  Varax, 
lord  of  La  Palu,  and  royal  lieutenant,  ascended  the  mountains  of 
Dauphine,  and  invaded  the  vale  of  Loyse.  All  the  horrors  of 
war  fell  at  once  on  the  affrighted  inhabitants  of  this  valley. 
The  papists  treated  them  with  unparalleled  barbarity.  Those 
who  were  first  slain  by  the  sword  were  the  most  fortunate. 
Those  who  made  their  escape  to  the  recesses  of  the  rocks  and 
the  depths  of  caverns,  known  only  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
valleys,  were  pursued  thither ;  large  fires  were  kindled  at  the 
entrance  of  their  hiding-places,  and  left  them  only  the  choice 
between  a  horrible  massacre  from  without,  or  death  by  suffoca- 
tion if  they  remained  within.  The  greater  part  resigned  them- 
selves to  the  latter.  It  is  reported  that  four  hundred  young 
children  were  found  stifled  in  these  caverns,  and  that  three 
thousand  persons  perished  in  these  terrible  encounters.  The  mis- 
fortunes of  the  vale  of  Loyse  spared  the  repetition  of  them  to  the 
neighbouring  valleys  of  Argentiere  and  Fraissiniere.     Seeing  no 

♦Extract  from  the  bull  of  Innocent  VIII.,  Leger,  part  ii,  p.  8. 


ATTACK  ON  THE  VALLEYS.  125 

hope  of  safety  but  in  energetic  resistance,  they  guarded  the 
passes,  defended  themselves  valiantly,  and  very  soon  saw  their 
persecutors  retreat  for  a  time. 

A  corps  detached  from  the  army  that  was  assembled  in 
Dauphine,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Alps,  crossing  the  elevated 
denies  of  the  mountains,  came  suddenly  by  Cesane,  on  the  eastern 
side,  into  the  valley  of  Pragela,  or  Clusone,  the  most  northern 
of  all  the  Vaudois  valleys.  The  hostile  force,  falling  unexpect- 
edly like  an  avalanche  on  a  people  occupied  as  usual  in  their 
peaceful  labours,  surprised  them  without  the  means  of  defence, 
threw  them  into  consternation,  laid  waste  and  ravaged  their 
towns,  pillaged  their  cottages,  and  massacred  the  inhabitants. 
The  fugitives  themselves  were  not  able  to  escape  the  fury  of  their 
pursuers.  As  in  the  vale  of  Loyse,  inflammable  materials  were 
heaped  at  the  entrance  of  the  caverns,  to  which  they  had  re- 
treated from  the  fury  of  their  pitiless  adversaries ;  and  if  they 
tried  to  escape  from  the  flames  that  devoured,  or  the  smoke  that 
stifled  them,  they  were  instantly  slain  by  the  sword.  Of  all  the 
valley  of  Pragela,  the  villages  of  Fraisse  and  Meane  suffered  the 
most.  Nevertheless,  the  inhabitants  of  Clusone,  recovering  from 
their  first  alarm,  organized  themselves  at  different  points,  fell, 
in  their  turn,  on  their  enemies,  and  succeeded  in  repulsing  them. 

The  army  collected  in  Piedmont,  by  the  urgent  appeals  of  the 
pope's  legate,  Capitaneis,  and  destined  to  extirpate  the  Vaudois 
heresy  from  the  valleys  of  San  Martino,  Perosa,  and  Lucerna, 
as  well  as  Pravilhelm,  and  other  places  in  the  valley  of  the  Po, 
was  now  ready  to  invade  these  unhappy  countries.  It  is  asserted 
that  there  were  not  less  than  eighteen  thousand  men  in  the  ranks, 
besides  a  great  number  of  Piedmontese,  who  followed  them,  in 
order  to  merit  the  plenary  indulgence  promised  by  the  pope, 
and  to  take  their  share  in  the  plunder. 

No  record  has  been  preserved  of  all  the  particular  acts  of  this 
great  persecution ;  so  that  we  cannot  even  name  all  the  places 
laid  waste,  or  all  the  Vaudois  Churches  that  were  destroyed. 
But  it  is  very  probable  that,  from  this  epoch,  the  ruin  must  be 
dated  of  numbers  of  the  Vaudois,  in  the  towns  and  villages  of 
the  plain  of  Piedmont. 

As  for  the  attacks  on  the  valleys,  strictly  so  called,  we  possess 
more  details.  It  appears  that  one  division  of  the  army  pene- 
trated with  no  great  difficulty  into  the  valley  of  Lucerna.     This 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

was  too  large,  and  the  ground  too  little  broken,  for  men  unac- 
customed to  war  to  oppose  effectively  the  entrance  of  a  numer- 
ous body  of  soldiers,  well  armed  and  disciplined.  San  Giovanni, 
La  Torre,  Villaro,  Bobbio,  and  all  their  hamlets,  were  occupied 
by  the  enemy. 

Bobbio  is  the  last  village  in  the  plain  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna, 
peacefully  seated  in  the  midst  of  chestnut-trees  and  vines,  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  and  gently-sloping  meadows,  at  the  base 
of  gigantic  mountains,  through  which  the  Pelice  forces  its  way, 
and  rolls  along  murmuring  and  covered  with  foam.  From  this 
fertile  spot,  rich  in  the  beauties  of  nature,  but  then  laid  waste 
by  greedy  and  pitiless  soldiers,  a  defile  opens  to  the  north  be- 
tween the  rocks.  Following  its  course,  always  in  a  northerly 
direction,  over  the  opposite  slope,  across  pasture-land  and  woods, 
we  descend  at  last  to  the  hamlets  of  the  commune  of  Prali,  scat- 
tered over  a  plain  enclosed  by  steep  mountains.  It  was  to  this 
spot,  and  through  the  pass  we  have  been  describing,  that  seven 
hundred  men,  detached  from  the  papal  army  which  occupied 
the  valley  of  Lucerna,  brought  all  the  horrors  of  war.  They  had 
hoped  to  surprise  this  peaceable  district,  which,  from  its  position 
at  the  extremity  of  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  and  out  of  any 
direct  road,  might  have  thought  itself  secure  from  attack.  For 
an  instant  the  invaders  might  suppose  they  had  succeeded. 
They  had  reached  the  hamlet  of  Pommiers,  when  they  found 
themselves  assailed  by  the  united  Pralins  with  a  courage  so  im- 
petuous, that  they  could  make  but  little  resistance.  Fatigued  by 
a  long  and  rapid  march  over  roads,  uneven,  slippery,  and  steep, 
astonished  at  meeting,  instead  of  affrighted  and  suppliant  fugi- 
tives, armed  men  full  of  ardour,  and  some  of  them  urged  on  by 
gloomy  desperation,  they  soon  gave  way,  and  were  all  cut  in 
pieces,  save  one,  an  ensign.  During  the  massacre,  he  escaped 
along  the  torrent,  which  he  reascended,  and  concealed  himself 
under  a  great  mass  of  snow,  in  a  cavity  which  had  been  formed 
by  the  melting  of  the  snow,  (for  it  was  summer,)  and  there  he 
remained  till  cold  and  hunger  forced  him  to  descend  and  implore 
mercy  from  those  whom  he  would  have  massacred.  His  request 
was  readily  granted.  The  Pralins,  appeased  by  their  success, 
allowed  him  to  go  in  peace,  to  announce  the  defeat  and  death 
of  all  his  companions. 

The  efforts  of  the  crusading  army  were  directed  principally 


ATTACK  ON  THE  VALLEYS.  127 

to  the  vale  of  Angrogna,  which  might  be  regarded  &  the  heart 
of  the  valleys ;  and  was  doubtless  then,  as  on  many  other  occa- 
sions, the  place  of  refuge,  and  the  fortress  of  the  affrighted  in- 
habitants. This  glen,  a  lateral  and  northern  branch  of  the 
valley  of  Lucerna,  descends  from  the  north  and  west,  where  the 
sharp  ridges  of  Soiran,  l'Infernet,  and  the  Rous,  separate  it 
from  the  Alpine  pastures  of  the  valley  of  San  Martino  towards 
the  south-east,  and  opens  by  an  abrupt  bend  to  the  south  into 
the  valley  of  Lucerna,  to  the  east  of  the  town  of  La  Torre.  The 
spinal  ridge  of  rocks  and  peaks  which,  from  the  Rous  on  the  west, 
inclines  eastward,  and  terminates  in  the  magnificent  Vandalin, 
with  its  pyramidal  sides,  closes  the  glen  on  the  south,  and  sepa- 
rates it  from  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  as  far  as  the  spot  where  it 
merges  into  that  valley.     On  this  side  it  is  impregnable. 

To  attack  Angrogna  on  this  side  would  have  been  folly.  The 
steeps,  the  bends,  the  rents  of  the  ground,  furrowed  with  streams, 
as  well  as  the  shelter  of  the  chestnut  and  walnut  trees,  with  their 
thick  foliage,  which  perpetually  intercept  the  view,  would  ex- 
pose an  army  to  continual  surprises,  and  enable  a  small  number 
of  resolute  men  to  stop  it  at  every  step,  and  would  subject  it  to 
perpetual  losses,  and  to  be  attacked  and  hurled  down  the  pre- 
cipices which  are  all  along  the  road. 

But  if  the  valley  of  Angrogna  could  not  be  forced  on  this  side, 
it  might  be  by  gaining  the  high  plateau  by  means  of  the  gentle 
declivities  which  rise  from  the  plain  of  San  Giovanni,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  in  a  northerly  direction  to- 
wards the  Sea  of  Angrogna,  by  the  heights  of  Roccamaneot. 
Once  arrived  there,  a  hostile  troop  is  master  of  the  higher 
plateau.  No  obstacle  opposes  its  march,  till  it  reaches  the  rocks 
which  enclose  the  retired  vale  of  Pra-di-torre :  it  may  then  rush 
down,  like  a  devastating  torrent,  on  the  hamlets  it  overlooks, 
and  which  have  no  further  means  of  natural  defence. 

It  was  by  the  latter  road  we  have  been  describing  that  the 
army  of  crusaders  prepared  to  invade  the  central  valley  of  An- 
grogna. They  left  their  quarters,  and  prepared  to  climb,  by  the 
declivity  of  San  Giovanni,  the  southern  side  of  the  hills,  direct- 
ing their  march  towards  the  upper  plateau  and  rock  of  Roc- 
camaneot. On  these  hills,  the  poor  Vaudois  had  to  sustain  a 
very  severe  combat.  They  prepared  for  it  by  prayer.  Their 
enemies,  as  they  advanced,  saw  them  prostrate,  and  heard  the 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

petitions  they  offered  aloud  to  God.  The  papists  ridiculed  them, 
being  full  of  confidence  in  their  own  numbers,  equipments,  and 
valour.  But  the  Divine  mercy  secured  the  victory  to  the  smaller 
number ;  God  hearkened  to  those  who  relied  upon  him.  Among 
the  assailants,  one  of  the  principal  leaders,  Le  Noir,  of  Mondovi, 
another  Goliath  defying  Israel,  boasted,  with  horrible  blasphemies, 
of  the  carnage  he  would  make  among  these  heretical  herdsmen, 
when,  having  raised  his  visor  on  account  of  the  heat,  and  to 
show  his  contempt,  he  was  struck  between  the  eyes  by  an  arrow 
discharged  by  Peiret  Revil,  of  Angrogna.  He  fell;  and  his 
death  so  terrified  his  companions  in  arms,  already  surprised  and 
embarrassed  by  the  obstinate  resistance  of  the  Vaudois,  that  they 
turned  their  backs  on  those  whom  they  had  before  despised,  and 
fled  with  much  loss.  The  joy  felt  for  so  great  a  deliverance  was 
expressed  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  in  all  the  valley,  by  thanks- 
givings and  hymns  of  praise. 

The  enemy,  irritated  by  their  loss,  and  ashamed  of  the  defeat, 
having  reassembled  all  their  forces,  again  assailed  the  valley  of 
Angrogna,  and  made  themselves  masters  of  all  the  plateau  and 
the  hamlets  on  the  left  side  of  the  torrent  as  far  as  Rocciailla,  a 
mass  of  rocks  which  descends  abruptly  from  the  neighbouring 
heights  of  La  Vachere,  southward  to  the  very  bed  of  the  torrent, 
and  separates  the  lower  and  cultivated  valley  of  Angrogna  from 
the  upper.  This  latter  valley  is  perfectly  Alpine  in  its  character, 
and  has  the  form  of  an  immense  funnel,  broken  on  the  eastern 
side  ;  it  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  sharp  ridge  of  the  ma- 
jestic Vandalin,  on  the  west  by  the  snowy  summits  of  Sella 
Veglia,  and  the  Rous,  on  the  north  by  the  frightful  rocks  of  the 
Infernet  and  Soiron,  and  on  the  east  by  the  Rocciailla,  a  mass 
of  rocks  not  very  pointed,  but  steep  and  rugged,  which  confine 
the  torrent  of  the  Angrogna  at  its  outlet. 

In  the  centre  of  this  funnel  is  an  extensive  meadow,  bounded 
on  one  side  by  the  torrent,  and  on  the  other  by  some  buildings ; 
it  is  the  Pradutour,  or  Predutour — Pra-di-torre — so  celebrated 
in  Vaudois  history.  On  this  spot,  according  to  tradition,  was 
once  situated  that  celebrated  school  of  the  barbes,  or  pastors, 
which  preserved  the  holy  doctrine  of  the  primitive  Church  un- 
defined and  pure,  which  fed  the  flame  of  evangelical  truth  in 
these  retired  mountains,  and  diffused  its  light  to  a  distance  by 
means  of  its  missionaries.     This  retired  glen,  fertile  in  its  lower 


ATTACK  ON  THE  VALLEYS.         129 

parts,  was  chosen  in  almost  all  the  persecutions  as  a  last  earthly 
refuge,*  with  some  other  spots  equally  inaccessible.  Thither 
the  population  of  Angrogna,  and  the  fugitives  who  had  joined 
them,  hastily  betook  themselves,  and  crowded  their  families  into 
it,  with  the  little  property  they  were  able  to  save. 

In  ascending  the  lower  valley  of  Angrogna,  as  was  done  by 
the  victorious  army  of  the  papists,  the  only  way  of  reaching  the 
Pra-di-torre  was  through  a  defilef  at  the  foot  of  inaccessible 
rocks,  which  only  open  wide  enough  for  the  passage  of  the  tor- 
rent and  a  narrow  road.  It  was  in  this  contracted  gorge,  be- 
tween Rocciailla  and  the  Angrogna,  that  the  victorious  bands 
entangled  themselves.  The  more  advanced  were  on  the  point 
of  penetrating  into  the  refuge  of  the  Vaudois,  the  Pra-di-torre, 
when  all  at  once  they  were  enveloped  in  a  thick  fog.  They 
could  not  distinguish  a  single  object,  nor  tell  whereabouts  they 
were ;  they  dared  not  advance  for  fear  of  a  surprise,  but  halted 
in  a  state  of  extreme  disquietude.  At  this  juncture,  the  An- 
grognines,  emboldened  by  this  interposition  of  Providence  in 
their  favour,  issued  forth  from  all  their  retreats,  vigorously  at- 
tacked their  perplexed  aggressors,  whom  they  defeated,  put  to 
flight,  and  pursued.  Profiting  by  the  knowledge  they  possessed 
of  the  locality,  they  soon  came  up  with  them,  by  crossing  the 
rocks,  and  took  them  in  flank.  The  fugitives,  choking  up  the 
narrow  road,  were  crowded  together,  and  in  pressing  forwards 
precipitated  one  another  over  the  rocks  into  the  foaming  waters. 
The  fog,  the  precipices,  the  rocks,  and  the  torrent,  made  more 
victims  on  that  day  than  the  swords  of  the  Vaudois.  The  num- 
ber of  deaths  was  very  considerable.  Tradition  has  preserved 
a  faithful  memorial  of  one  of  the  men  whom  the  hand  of  God 
smote  in  this  defeat — a  Captain  Saguet,  or  Saquet,  of  Polong- 
hery,  in  Piedmont,  a  man  of  colossal  size,  who  filled  the  air  with 
his  blasphemies  and  his  menaces  against  the  Vaudois.  His  foot 
slipped  over  the  edge  of  a  rock,  he  fell  into  the  boiling  waters 
of  the  Angrogna,  was  carried  away,  and  thrown  by  them  into  a 
whirlpool  or  basin,  which  still  goes  by  his  name ;  Tompi  Saquet. 

Many  other  assaults  were  made  on  the  Vaudois  in  their  dif- 

*  Pra-di-torre  was  not  the  only  place  which  served  as  a  retreat,  but  all  the 
low  neighbouring  country,  which  includes  Ciauvia,  Chiot,  Chaudet,  etc. 
t  The  enemy  attempted  afterwards  to  penetrate  by  other  roads,  but  with  the 
ill  success. 

6* 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ferent  retreats.  It  is  known  that  the  valleys  of  Perosa  and  San 
Martino  suffered  from  the  cruelties  of  the  army  of  the  legate 
Capitaneis.  Pravilhelm,  in  the  valley  of  the  Po,  was  also  attacked. 
Much  blood  was  shed  in  these  repeated  combats.  The  unfor- 
tunate inhabitants  were  oppressed  with  grief,  and  recovered 
very  slowly  from  their  disasters ;  yet  the  course  of  years  has  suc- 
ceeded in  effacing  the  recollection  of  the  greater  number  of  the 
scenes  of  desolation  which  deformed  this  period.  This,  however, 
is  well  known,  that  God  everywhere  succoured  his  children  ;  and 
that  after  this  army  had  for  a  twelvemonth  hovered  over  these 
valleys  and  the  adjacent  parts,  like  a  menacing  tempest,  the 
prince  of  Piedmont,  Charles  II.,*  put  an  end  to  a  war  so  inju- 
rious to  his  subjects.  This  young  prince,  only  twenty  years  of 
age,  being  desirous  of  peace,  expressed  his  displeasure  at  this 
cruel  conflict,  and  sent  proposals  of  peace  to  the  Vaudois.  He 
intrusted  this  mission  to  a  bishop  who  came  to  Prassuit,  a  hamlet 
of  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  to  confer  with  the  mountaineers. 
The  prelate  assured  them  of  the  good-will  of  their  sovereign,  and 
of  the  kindly  reception  he  was  ready  to  give  them ;  and  suc- 
ceeded in  persuading  them  to  send  a  deputation. 

The  Vaudois  sent  twelve  of  the  principal  persons  among  them 
to  Pinerolo,  whom  the  duke  graciously  received.  He  questioned 
them  for  a  long  time,  and,  after  hearing  their  answers,  candidly 
declared  that  he  had  been  misinformed  both  as  to  their  persons 
and  their  belief.  He  wished  to  see  their  children ;  for  it  had 
been  certified  to  him  that  they  were  all  born  with  some  monstrous 
deformity,  such  as  one  eye  in  their  foreheads,  four  rows  of  black 
teeth,  and  other  things  of  that  sort.  When  he  found  that  those 
who  were  brought  to  him  were  beautiful  and  well  made,  he  could 
not  repress  his  indignation  at  having  been  so  grossly  imposed  upon. 
Being  undeceived  as  to  his  opinion  of  his  Vaudois  subjects,  he 
accepted  the  gift  which  the  deputies  offered  him  in  the  name  of 
the  people,  confirmed  them  in  their  privileges  and  accustomed 
liberties,!  and  promised  that  they  should  be  unmolested  in  future. 

Such  was  the  issue  of  this  cruel  crusade  of  the  year  1488,  un- 
dertaken in  the  name  of  a  merciless  religion,  and  which  owed  its 

*  Gilles  attributes  this  peace  to  Duke  Philip,  but  he  is  mistaken,  for  this 
prince  was  then  in  France,  and  did  not  begin  to  reign  till  1496. 

t  We  feel  certain  that  these  privileges  and  liberties  were  those  renewed  by 
the  marquises  of  Lucerna  in  favour  of  their  subjects,  when  they  submitted  to 
the  house  of  Savoy. 


VAUDOIS  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  PO.     131 

termination  to  the  sense  of  justice  in  a  wise  prince.  Alas!  how 
frequently  shall  we  have  occasion  to  see  the  same  facts  and 
the  same  characters  present  themselves  again,  with  only  some 
variation  of  circumstances.  Calumny  has  been  but  too  often  a 
weapon  in  the  mouth  of  Rome  to  destroy  the  faithful  Vaudois. 
After  the  peace  of  1489,  several  years  passed  away  in  tran- 
quillity for  those  of  the  Vaudois  who  survived  the  cruel  persecu- 
tion we  have  been  narrating.  But  the  year  1500  was  marked 
by  a  most  violent  attack  on  the  Vaudois  in  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Po,  in  the  marquisate  of  Saluzzo.  Their  neighbours,  the 
Vaudois  of  Bagnolo,  so  numerous,  and  formerly  so  well  known, 
had  now  entirely  disappeared.  The  story  of  their  misfortunes 
has  not  come  down  to  posterity.  We  know  not  when  or  how 
they  ceased  to  exist ;  but  the  arm  which  effected  their  extirpa- 
tion could  be  no  other  than  that  which  decimated  the  valleys. 
The  same  spirit  of  darkness  infused  thoughts  of  destruction  into 
the  heart  of  Marguerite  de  Foix,  widow  of  the  marquis  of  Saluz- 
zo, against  her  Vaudois  subjects  of  Pravilhelm,  the  Biolets  and 
Bietone,  in  the  upper  valley  of  the  Po.  Being  assailed  and  per- 
secuted with  unceasing  rancour,  these  poor  people  saw  no  hope 
of  safety  but  in  flight.  They  retired  to  the  valley  of  Lucerna. 
From  that  place  they  addressed  petitions  to  their  sovereign,  for 
five  years,  to  be  reinstated  in  their  dwellings  and  possessions. 
Vain  hope  !  The  only  reply  was  the  dishonourable  proposal  to 
sell  their  souls  by  accepting  popery.  Such  a  mercenary  and 
criminal  proceeding  was  foreign  to  their  simplicity :  they  demand- 
ed justice,  and  that  being  refused,  they  resolved  upon  taking  it 
by  force.  Perhaps,  in  doing  so,  they  went  beyond  the  bounds 
of  Christian  moderation.  Under  the  conduct  of  one  of  their  num- 
ber, an  intrepid  man,  they  unexpectedly  returned  in  arms  to  their 
ancient  dwelling-places.  Sword  in  hand,  they  drove  away  the 
papists  who  had  established  themselves  there,  and  struck  such 
terror  into  the  surrounding  population,  that,  expecting  repose 
only  by  a  compromise  with  the  legitimate  and  ancient  inhabitants 
of  the  contested  territory,  and  recollecting,  no  doubt,  the  friendly 
relations  that  had  formerly  existed  between  them,  they  joined  in 
imploring  from  their  sovereign  the  free  return  of  the  Vaudois 
to  their  villages.  This  was  granted,  as  well  as  the  enjoyment  of 
their  liberties  in  what  concerned  their  faith. 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  VAUDOIS    AND  THE  REFORMATION    AT  THE  BEGINNING  OP 
THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  peace  of  1489  could  not  heal  all  the  wounds  inflicted  on  the 
Vaudois  by  persecution.  It  is  true  that  the  kind  language  of 
the  duke  of  Savoy  had  at  first  excited  hopes  in  many  hearts  5 
but  it  was  too  soon  perceived  that  the  new  state  of  things  was 
very  uncertain  and  precarious.  The  Yaudois  population  was 
considerably  diminished  in  the  valleys.  Could  it  be  otherwise, 
after  so  many  conflicts  and  massacres  ?  And  in  the  towns  and 
villages  of  the  plain  of  Piedmont,  where  some  Yaudois  churches 
had  existed,  cruel  persecution  had  destroyed  them;  it  had  slain, 
dispersed,  or  driven  into  concealment,  their  members  and  adhe- 
rents. The  loss  of  so  many  friends  and  brethren  was  most  mourn- 
ful, and  the  ruin  of  so  many  Yaudois  congregations,  that  were 
lights  in  the  midst  of  darkness,  was  irreparable.  Instead  of  cru- 
sades with  an  armed  force,  which  were  suspended  for  a  time, 
owing  to  the  humanity  or  policy  of  the  prince,  the  Romish  clergy 
had  recourse  to  secret  manoeuvres,  the  employment  of  underhand 
methods,  and  the  regular  agency  of  the  tribunals  of  the  inquisition. 
These  latter,  by  virtue  of  the  privileges  granted  by  the  civil  au- 
thority, had  the  right  of  judging  special  cases  of  heresy  which 
might  occur.  The  external  situation  of  the  Yaudois,  already  de- 
cimated, weakened  and  impoverished  by  the  war  of  1488,  was 
therefore  very  precarious,  notwithstanding  the  peace  concluded 
with  their  sovereign. 

Such  was  the  lamentable  condition  of  the  Yaudois  population 
of  the  Piedmontese  valleys  after  the  peace  of  1489,  enfeebled, 
impoverished,  decimated,  in  dread  of  fresh  persecutions.  A  timid 
spectator  of  the  isolated  sufferings  of  those  of  her  sons  who  ven- 
tured into  the  plains  of  Piedmont,  and  were  arrested  by  the  in- 
quisition,* the  Yaudois  Church,  while  seeking  an  alleviation  of 
her  sorrows  in  the  promises  and  kind  language  of  her  prince,  was 

*  Perrin,  in  his  Histoire  des  Vaudois,  says,  (p.  155,)  "  The  monkish  inquisitors 
always  commenced  law  proceedings  against  those  whom  they  could  lay  hold 
of,  and  particularly  lay  in  wait  for  them  at  a  certain  convent,  (no  doubt  the 
convent  of  FAbbadie,)  near  Pinerolo,  from  which  they  delivered  them  to  the 
secular  power. 


GLANCE  AT  THE  REFORMATION.        133 

threatened  in  her  interior  life.  A  great  number  of  her  members, 
occupied  with  their  temporal  interests,  and  forgetting  the  Sa- 
viour's injunction,  on  the  duty  of  confessing  his  name,  had  recourse 
to  shameful  and  criminal  dissimulation.  In  order  to  be  shielded 
from  all  interruption  in  their  journeys  on  business,  they  obtained 
from  the  priests,  who  were  settled  in  the  valleys,*  certificates  or 
testimonials  of  their  being  papists.  To  claim  them,  they  fre- 
quented the  Roman  Catholic  churches,  were  present  at  mass, 
confessed,  and  had  their  children  baptized  by  the  priests.  It  is 
true  that  they  fancied  that  they  palliated  their  fault,  by  saying 
to  themselves,  when  they  entered  the  temples  of  the  enemies  of 
their  faith,  "  Cave  of  robbers,  may  God  confound  thee !"  It  is 
true  that  they  also  attended  the  preaching  of  the  barbes,  or  Vau- 
dois  pastors,  and  submitted  to  their  censure. — Gilles,  p.  28.  But 
these  precautions,  far  from  acquitting  them,  made  their  duplicity, 
and  their  divided  heart,  and  the  severe  judgment  which  their  own 
consciences  passed  upon  their  conduct,  more  striking.  The  Vau- 
dois  Church,  in  tolerating  so  great  a  scandal,  evidently  suffered 
a  stream  of  impurity  to  flow  into  the  channels  of  her  spiritual  life, 
which  had  been  hitherto  nourished  by  the  pure  water  of  the  word 
of  God  alone.  She  manifestly  incurred  the  risk  of  altering  her 
faith,  and  modifying  the  profession  of  it. 

But  the  invisible  Head  of  the  Church,  the  Lord,  who  had  re- 
deemed her  by  his  blood,  watched  over  this  feeble  but  ancient 
portion  of  his  inheritance  with  love.  As  a  friend  never  shows 
himself  more  faithful  than  in  the  moment  of  danger,  nor  more 
tender  than  in  the  hour  of  affliction,  so  the  Lord  Jesus  came  to 
deliver  the  Vaudois  Church  when  her  temptations  were  aggra- 
vated, and  to  console  her  under  all  her  sufferings,  by  announc- 
ing his  triumph  over  antichrist  in  the  Reformation.  How 
much  is  contained  in  that  single  word ! 

"  Reformation  !"  It  expresses  nothing  less  than  a  deep,  radical, 
and  complete  renovation  of  the  form,  constitution,  and  life  of  the 
Church ;  nothing  less  than  a  return  to  its  primitive  state ;  than 
a  re-establishment  of  doctrine,  morals,  and  divine  service,  on  the 
foundations  laid  by  our  Lord  himself  and  the  apostles,  and  an 
aspiration  after  a  new  life  of  faith,  self-denial,  charity,  and  lioli- 

*  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  there  were  other  ministers,  excepting  at  La 
Torre,  Lucerna,  and  Bricherasco.  This  would  form  the  subject  of  an  interest- 
ing investigation. 


134  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ness ;  in  one  word,  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  For  a  long 
time,  even  in  the  Church  of  Rome  itself,  reform  had  been  talked 
of:  princes,  magistrates,  men  of  science  and  letters,  ecclesiastical 
persons,  and  numbers  of  the  faithful  among  the  laity,  had  at  dif- 
ferent times  demanded  it :  even  the  assembly  of  bishops  at  the 
Council  of  Constance  wished  to  attempt  it,  but  always  in  vain. 
The  evil  was  too  great ;  the  plague  too  deep  and  inveterate ;  the 
body  itself  too  tainted,  for  the  cure  to  be  attempted  in  good  faith, 
and  with  the  consent  of  all  its  members.  Every  one  was  sensi- 
ble of  the  evil,  and  marked  its  symptoms,  but  no  one  in  the  Church 
pointed  out  its  true  cause.  No  one  was  for  applying  to  it  the 
only  efficacious  remedy,  namely,  the  faithful  preaching  of  the 
word  of  God.  The  youngest  child  among  the  Yaudois  could 
have  indicated  it ;  but,  for  the  Romish  Church  to  discover  the 
remedy,  and  consent  to  employ  it,  needed  a  direct  intervention 
of  Divine  Providence ;  for  how  could  the  cruel  persecutors  of 
the  Albigenses  and  Vaudois,  of  her  own  accord,  seek  for  the  cure 
in  the  very  book  which  had  animated,  and  still  sustained  and 
consoled,  the  objects  of  her  hatred  ? 

This  miracle  of  mercy  God  was  pleased  to  effect  in  many  places, 
and  in  more  than  one  heart  at  once,  that  the  glory  might  redound 
to  him,  and  not  to  any  human  being.  He  awakened  the  love 
of  the  truth,  and  excited  here  and  there  a  spirit  of  inquiry,  which 
for  a  long  time  had  been  unknown  in  the  Romish  Church.  He 
put  into  the  hands  of  men  "  after  his  own  heart"  the  text  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  revealed  the  meaning  to  them  by  his  Spirit. 
In  France,  an  old  man,  a  distinguished  doctor ;  in  Germany,  a 
young  monk,  Martin  Luther,  concerned  for  his  own  salvation,  in 
a  convent  in  Saxony ;  in  Switzerland,  Zwingli,  a  young  cure, 
devoted  to  his  pastoral  duties,  at  Glaris,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Alps, 
and  afterwards  to  the  office  of  preacher  in  the  celebrated  abbey 
of  Notre-Dame-des-Ermites,  (our  Lady  of  the  Hermits,)  or  of 
Einsiedlen,  re-established  simultaneously,  by  the  sole  study  of 
the  Bible,  and  without  being  privy  to  one  another's  labours,  the 
vital  doctrines  of  the  gospel.* 

No  sooner  were  they  initiated  into  evangelical  truth,  and  re- 
generated by  it,  than  these  men,  blessed  from  on  high,  had  only 
one  desire, — that  of  glorifying  God,  by  communicating  to  others, 
their  friends,  their  relations,  and  their  contemporaries,  the  grace 

*  See  Merle  D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth  Century. 


GLANCE  AT  THE  REFORMATION.       135 

which  had  been  shown  to  them.  In  their  familiar  conversations, 
they  excited  great  interest  in  recounting  the  providential  circum- 
stances by  which  God  had  put  into  their  hands  the  sacred  text, 
and  opened  their  hearts  to  its  inspirations.  By  these  recitals, 
they  produced  in  many  souls  the  lively  and  profound  emotions 
which  they  had  themselves  experienced ;  the  joy,  the  ecstasy, 
the  alarm,  the  penitence,  and  the  gratitude,  which  by  turns  had 
taken  possession  of  their  own  minds,  in  reading  the  declarations 
of  God's  word.  By  their  preaching  and  public  instructions,  these 
illustrious  reformers,  above  all  those  of  Germany  and  Switzerland, 
had  poured  streams  of  light,  and  infused  a  vital  warmth,  into  a 
multitude  of  sincere  hearts.  By  their  publications,  by  their  com- 
mentaries, and  especially  by  the  translation,  printing,  and  dis- 
semination of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  they  had  brought  within  the 
reach  of  all  those  who  possessed  some  elementary  instruction,  and, 
through  them,  within  every  one's  reach,  the  knowledge  of  God 
and  of  his  Christ,  according  to  the  gospel. 

The  light  was  replaced  on  the  candlestick.  By  its  vivid  and 
pure  radiance  the  superstitions,  the  idolatry,  the  errors,  and  the 
vices  of  Rome,  appeared  in  all  their  deformity.  Thousands  of 
sincere  souls  turned  from  the  way  of  destruction,  in  which  their 
blind  leaders  had  hitherto  kept  them,  and  advanced  with  joy, 
confidence,  and  hope,  in  the  paths  of  the  gospel. 

The  Reformation  had  extended  itself  in  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land ;  it  had  tried  its  strength  at  Paris,  Meaux,  and  various  other 
places,  when  the  report  of  its  operations  resounded  as  far  as  the 
Vaudois  churches  of  Piedmont,  Danphine,  and  Provence.  These 
ancient  churches,  isolated,  surrounded  by  enemies,  weakened, 
and  somewhat  discouraged  by  persecution,  were  roused  at  the 
consolatory  news  of  a  return  to  the  word  of  God,  to  the  doctrine 
of  salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  a  purer  life,  in  coun- 
tries heretofore  papal.  They  hastened  to  collect  certain  infor- 
mation, and  to  enter  into  connexion  with  their  new  brethren. 
As  early  as  the  year  1526  the  barbe  (or  pastor)  Martin,  of  the 
valley  of  Lucerna,  had  returned  from  one  of  these  journeys  of 
inquiry,  and  brought  back  many  books  printed  by  the  reformers. 

But  of  all  the  journeys  of  the  Vaudois  barbes  at  this  period, 
that  of  Georges  Morel,  of  Merindol,  and  Pierre  Masson,*  a  na- 
tive of  Burgundy,  is  the  best  known.  Having  been  deputed  by 
*  G.  Morel's  companion  is  called  Latome  by  Scultetus. 


136  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  Vaudois  churches  of  Provence  and  Dauphine*  to  visit  the 
reformers  of  Switzerland  and  Germany,  they  held  a  conference 
with  the  brethren  of  Neufchatel,  Morat,  and  Berne,  with  Ber- 
thold  Haller,  and  doubtless,  also,  with  William  Farel  ;f  and  in 
the  month  of  October,  1530,  they  presented  to  CEcolampadius, 
the  reformer  of  Bale,  a  long  document  in  Latin,  in  which  they 
gave  a  complete  account  of  their  ecclesiastical  discipline,  worship, 
manners,  and  doctrine,  requesting,  at  the  same  time,  his  advice 
on  several  points. 

This  document,  marked  by  a  humility  and  openness  of  heart 
not  common  even  among  brethren  in  the  faith,  throws  great  light 
on  the  internal  state,  at  that  time,  of  the  Vaudois  churches  in 
the  south-east  of  France.  It  is  also  probable  that  this  state  was 
more  or  less  that  of  their  neighbours,  the  Vaudois  churches  in 
Piedmont,  but  perhaps  in  a  less  degree  of  declension.  The  pre- 
ceding accounts  give  us  a  glimpse  of  this ;  the  sequel  will  render 
it  certain. 

The  exposition  made  by  the  barbe  Morel,  and  which  may  be 
found  in  Scultetus,  or  in  Ruchat,  shows  that  there  was  among 
the  Vaudois  of  that  time  a  sensible  inferiority  in  their  acquaint- 
ance with  saving  truth,  and  especially  in  the  profession  of  evan- 
gelical faith,  if  we  compare  them  with  their  ancestors,  such  as 
they  are  made  known  to  us  by  history,  and  the  religious  writings 
of  the  twelfth  century  .£ 

The  information  given  by  Georges  Morel  respecting  the  barbes, 
or  pastors  of  the  Vaudois  churches,  agrees  in  general  with  what 
we  know  of  their  ancient  discipline.  Yet  we  may  trace  indica- 
tions in  his  statement  of  a  certain  uncertainty  on  some  points 
of  doctrine  or  discipline,  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the 
Scriptures,  and,  as  it  strikes  us,  a  limited  knowledge  of  their  very 
interesting  religious  literature. 

The  candidate  for  the  pastoral  charge,  having  been  employed 
in  agricultural  labour,  or  as  a  herdsman,  till  the  age  of  twenty-five 
or  thirty,  came  before  the  barbes,  and  made  known  his  wishes. 

*  Perrin  asserts  positively  that  they  were  sent  by  the  Vaudois  churches  of 
France,  and  not  by  all  the  Vaudois  churches. 

t  [See  the  Life  of  William  Farel,  from  the  German  of  the  Rev.  Melchior  Kirch- 
hofer ;  published  by  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  London,  1837,  pp.  102-104, 271.] 

t  Scultetus  Annalium  Evangelii,  etc.,  Heidelberg®,  1618,  t,  ii,  p.  294.— Ruchat's 
Hist,  de  la  Reformation  de  la  Suisse,  t.  ii,  p.  319,  and  following. 


DOCUMENT  CONCERNING  THE  VAUDOIS.  137 

If  the  inquiry  respecting  his  character  proved  satisfactory,  he 
spent  the  winter  months  for  the  next  three  or  four  years  in  self- 
improvement  :  he  learned  by  heart  the  Gospels  according  to  Mat- 
thew and  John,  the  catholic  (or  general)  Epistles,  and  a  good 
part  of  those  of  St  Paul.  After  this,  he  had  to  pass  a  year  or 
two  in  retirement.  In  this  part,  Morel  speaks  of  sisters,  or  vir- 
gins, living  together  in  perpetual  celibacy,  and  says  that  it  was 
to  the  place  where  these  resided  that  candidates  were  sent,  to 
prepare  in  silence  for  the  functions  of  the  sacred  ministry,  to 
which  they  were  afterwards  appointed,  by  partaking  of  the  eu- 
charist  and  imposition  of  hands.  This  kind  of  religious  society 
of  females  is  a  fact  without  parallel  in  the  Vaudois  history,  and, 
if  it  be  true,  would  prove,  in  conjunction  with  the  celibacy  of 
the  barbes,  then  generally  practised,  that  Romish  notions  had 
become  considerably  prevalent  at  this  period,  at  least  in  the 
churches  of  Provence. 

The  holy  ministry,  as  it  appears,  was  exercised  in  faith  and 
love.  The  doctrine  taught  was,  for  the  most  part,  the  same  as 
in  remote  times ;  it  was  always,  in  essential  points,  evangelical. 
Yet  it  would  appear  that,  in  what  regards  the  acceptance  of  sal- 
vation, and  the  internal  life  of  the  Christian,  the  barbes  at  that 
time  allowed  an  immense  share  to  the  human  will.  "  We  be- 
lieve," say  they,  "  that  all  men  have  naturally  some  gift,  which 
God  has  bestowed  on  them,  one  man  more,  and  another  less ;  so 
that  men  can  do  something  by  this  power  which  is  given  them, 
but  especially  when  God  stimulates  and  excites  it,  as  he  says  him- 
self: ' Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock.'"  They  did  not 
admit  predestination,  excepting  with  certain  explanations,  which 
reduced  it  to  be  nothing  more  than  an  anticipated  view  of  human 
intentions  and  actions  by  the  omniscience  of  God. 

Some  Romish  tendencies  are  also  perceptible,  such  as  auri- 
cular confession,  but  without  superstition  or  tyranny.  They 
asked  the  reformers  whether  it  was  proper  to  have  degrees  of 
dignity  among  ministers  of  the  word  of  God,  such  as  bishops, 
priests,  and  deacons  ?  whether  the  distinction  of  sin,  as  original, 
venial,  and  mortal,  were  correct  ?  whether  it  was  allowable  to 
pray  for  the  dead  ?  which  were  the  ceremonial,  and  which  the 
civil  precepts  ?  whether  these  ordinances  were  entirely  abolished 
by  the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  They  rejected  purgatory,  as  a 
fiction  of  Antichrist;  also,  all  the  inventions  of  men,  such  as 


138  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

saints'  days,  vigils,  holy  water,  abstinence  from  meat  at  certain 
times ;  and,  in  particular,  they  looked  upon  the  mass  as  a  horrible 
abomination  before  God.  But  they  tolerated  one  great  evil: 
through  weakness  and  fear  of  their  persecutors,  they  had  their 
children  baptized  by  the  priests,  and  communicated  at  the  mass. 

The  injustice  and  cruelty  of  their  enemies  having  brought 
the  Vaudois  into  numberless  dangers,  and  occasioned  their 
adoption  of  particular  modes  of  acting,  Georges  Morel  inquired 
whether  open  force  or  stratagem  could  be  authorized,  in  cases 
where  life  and  property  were  endangered  ?  He  also  proposed 
the  question,  whether  it  was  allowable  for  the  faithful  ( Yaudois) 
to  plead  before  unbelieving  (Roman  Catholic)  judges  ? 

(Ecolampadius,  like  the  other  reformers,  beheld  with  deep 
emotion  and  delight  their  foreign  brethren,  deputed  by  the 
ancient  Vaudois  churches,  the  small  remnant  of  evangelical 
Christians  who  had  escaped,  as  by  miracle,  from  the  persecu- 
tions of  Rome.  With  all  his  colleagues,  he  blessed  God  for  the 
preservation  of  these  disciples  of  the  truth ;  these  lowly  flocks, 
scattered  at  the  foot  and  in  the  bosom  of  the  Alps  ;  saved  with 
difficulty  from  the  snares  that  were  constantly  laid  for  their 
lives,  as  well  as  their  souls.  These  sentiments  are  expressed  in 
the  answer  of  the  reformer  of  Bale  to  the  Vaudois  of  Provence, 
dated  October  13,  1530.  '  "  It  is  not,"  he  tells  them,  "  without  a 
lively  sentiment  of  joy  in  Christ,  that  we  have  learned  from 
Georges  Morel,  who  takes  such  faithful  care  of  your  salvation, 
what  are  your  religious  belief  and  worship.  We  render  thanks 
to  our  most  gracious  Father  that  he  has  called  you  into  such 
marvellous  light,  during  ages  in  which  such  thick  darkness  has 
covered  almost  the  whole  world,  under  the  empire  of  Antichrist. 
We  acknowledge  also  that  Christ  is  in  you ;  we  therefore  love 
you  as  brethren ;  and  God  grant  that  we  may  be  able  to  testify 
the  affection  of  our  hearts  by  its  fruits  !" 

To  these  expressions  of  kindness  and  proofs  of  attachment, 
the  reformer  felt  himself  impelled  to  add  some  Christian  obser- 
vations and  counsels  of  truth,  which  fidelity  demanded  of  him  : 
"  As  we  approve  of  many  things  among  you,  so  there  are  several 
which  we  wish  to  see  amended.  We  are  informed  that  the  fear 
of  persecution  has  caused  you  to  dissemble,  and  to  conceal  your 
faith.  Now  you  know  that  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  sal- 


(ECOLAMPADIUS.  139 

vation ;  but  that  those  who  are  ashamed  of  Christ  before  the 
world,  will  not  be  acknowledged  by  him  before  his  Father. 
Because  our  God  is  truth,  he  will  be  served  in  truth ;  and  as  he  is  a 
jealous  God,  he  will  not  permit  his  own  people  to  put  themselves 
under  the  yoke  of  Antichrist — for  there  is  no  concord  between 
Christ  and  Belial.  You  commune  with  unbelievers ;  you  take 
part  in  their  abominable  masses,  in  which  the  death  and  passion 
of  Christ  are  blasphemed.  For  when  they  boast  of  making 
satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  living  and  the  dead  by  their  sacri- 
fices, what  is  the  consequence,  unless  it  be  that  Christ  has  not 
made  satisfaction  by  his  one  sacrifice  ?  that  Christ  is  not  what 
his  name  of  Jesus  signifies,  that  is,  a  Saviour — and  that  he  died 
for  us  in  vain  ?  And  in  saying  Amen  !  to  their  prayers,  do  we 
not  deny  Christ  ?     How  many  deaths  would  it  not  be  better  to 

suffer  ? I  know  your  weakness ;  but  it  becomes  those 

who  know  they  have  been  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ  to 

be  more  courageous It  is  better  for  us  to  die  than  to  be 

overcome  by  temptation^ 

(Ecolampadius  replied  in  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation  to  all 
the  other  questions  which  they  had  proposed  to  him,  giving  the 
required  explanations  and  counsels.  It  is  not.  necessary  to  de- 
tail them  here.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  doctor  of  the  Refor- 
mation and  the  pastor  of  the  ancient  Vaudois  Church  felt  them- 
selves to  be  brethren,  and  the  Lord  gave  them  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace. 

From  Bale,  the  two  deputies  of  the  Vaudois  went  to  Strasburg, 
to  confer  with  Bucer  and  Capito.  They  took  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  the  former  from  (Ecolampadius,  dated  October  27, 
1530.  Having  fulfilled  their  mission,  they  set  out  on  their 
journey  homewards.  One  of  them,  Pierre  Masson,  could  not 
escape  suspicion;  he  was  waylaid  and  arrested  at  Dijon,  im- 
prisoned, and  condemned  to  death.  Georges  Morel  was  more 
fortunate,  and  passed  unnoticed  with  his  letters  and  papers,  and 
arrived  safely  in  Provence. — Perrin,  p.  216. 

The  answer  of  (Ecolampadius  produced  a  powerful  impression 
throughout  the  Vaudois  churches.  The  pastors  of  the  valleys 
discussed  among  themselves,  and  in  conferences  with  their 
neighbours,  the  questions  of  which  it  treated.  As  some  diver- 
sities of  opinion  still  existed,  and  it  was  thought  proper  to  revisit 
the  reformers  of  Germany  and  Switzerland  several  times,  it  was 


140  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

also  decided  to  convoke  a  synod,  in  order  to  terminate  the  busi- 
ness. All  the  Vaudois  churches  were  to  be  represented  in  it. 
The  Swiss  pastors  were  invited.  A  great  number  convened  at 
Grandison,  in  French  Switzerland,  chose  as  their  representative 
William  Farel,  that  bold  and  faithful  reformer,  and  Antony 
Saunier,  both  natives  of  Dauphine. — Ruchat,  t.  iii,  p.  176  and  557. 

The  presence  of  Farel  at  the  Vaudois  synod  is  confirmed  by 
the  deposition  of  a  Vaudois,  who  was  cast  into  prison  by  Bersour, 
in  the  persecution  of  1535.  Jeannet  Peyrel,  of  Angrogna,  de- 
posed that  he  had  kept  guard  for  the  ministers  who  taught  the 
good  law,  who  were  assembled  in  the  town  of  Chanforans,*  in 
the  centre  of  Angrogna,  and  said  that  amongst  others  there  was 
one  called  Farel,  who  had  a  red  beard,  and  a  beautiful  white 
horse,  and  two  others  accompanied  him,  one  of  whom  had  a 
horse  almost  black,  and  the  other  was  very  tall,  and  rather 
lame. — Gilles,  p.  40. 

The  synod  met  in  Angrogna,  at  the  place  called  Chanforans, 
and  commenced  its  sittings  September  1 2, 1532.f  It  was  solemn 
and  decisive.  All  the  questions  had  been  sufficiently  matured  ; 
they  were  then  debated  very  freely  for  six  days. — Gilles,  p.  41. 
At  length  the  synod,  or  assembly  of  the  barbes  and  heads  of 
families,  prepared  a  short  confession  of  faith,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  supplement  to  the  ancient  confession  of  faith  of  the 
year  1120,  which  it  does  not  contradict  in  any  point. 

The  synod  of  Angrogna  also  adopted  a  decisive  resolution  for 
the  well-being  of  the  Vaudois  Church,  which  had  been  compro- 
mised for  a  number  of  years  by  the  fear  of  persecutions.  It  was 
decreed  by  common  consent,  that  they  should  cease  entirely 
from  all  the  arts  of  dissimulation  by  which  they  had  hoped  to  escape 
the  notice  of  the  enemies  of  the  faith ;  that  henceforth  they  would 
take  no  part  in  any  of  the  popish  superstitions ;  that  they  would 
not  acknowledge  as  a  pastor  any  priest  of  the  Komish  Church, 
and  never  have  recourse  to  his  ministrations  in  any  case,  or 
under  any  circumstances.  They  likewise  resolved  to  cease  from 
all  concealment  in  their  religious  assemblies ;  that  the  worship 

*  Now  a  lone  house,  near  Odins,  towards  Le  Serre. 

t  Perrin  misdates  it  September  12,  1535,  since  the  Vaudois  Church  was  at 
that  time  harassed  with  persecution.  Leger,  part  i,  p.  95,  is  equally  wrong  in 
fixing  it  December  12,  1532.  This  time  of  the  year  would  have  been  far  too 
severe  for  the  joumey  of  the  Swiss  deputies,  and  of  so  many  pastors  from  be- 
yond the  Alps. 


CHURCHES  OF  BOHEMIA  AND  MORAVIA.     141 

should  be  carried  on  openly  and  publicly,  in  order  to  give  glory 
to  God. — Grilles,  p.  30. 

These  resolutions  met  with  some  opposition  in  the  synod,  on 
the  part  of  some  barbes,  who  were  either  friends  of  the  ancient 
order  of  things,  or  timid.  Two  of  them,  of  foreign  extraction, 
Daniel  de  Valence  and  Jean  de  Molines,  withdrew  without 
authority  from  the  general  assembly,  and  made  their  complaints 
to  the  churches  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia. 

Relations  equally  ancient  and  close  united  the  Vaudois  of 
France  and  Piedmont  to  the  evangelical  Christians  of  Bohemia 
and  Moravia.  The  origin  of  these  latter  is  probably  to  be 
dated  from  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  times  of  Pierre 
Valdo*  and  his  immediate  disciples,  the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons. 
Being  driven  about  by  persecution,  and  dispersed  in  various 
places,  they  had  become,  in  the  hands  of  God,  the  means  of  re- 
vival and  union  for  churches  that  were  still  governed  by  the 
word  of  God,  in  the  bosom  of  which  they  had  found  a  refuge ; 
and  thus,  amongst  others,  for  the  churches  of  Bohemia  and  for 
the  ancient  Vaudois  churches  in  the  valleys  of  the  Alps.  It 
was  in  Bohemia  that  Valdo  himself  terminated  his  admirable 
and  useful  career .f  He  found  a  Christian  Church  there,  which, 
like  all  those  of  the  Sclavonian  race,  had  received  Christianity 
through  the  medium  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  which,  like  all 
her  sisters,  abhorred  the  yoke  and  errors  of  Rome.  Attached 
to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  she  read  in  an  excellent  Sclavo- 
nian translation,  the  language  of  the  country,  the  Church  of 
Bohemia  had  welcomed,  with  a  cordial  feeling  of  Christian 
brotherhood,  Pierre  Valdo  and  his  friends,  who  had  been  per- 
secuted for  their  fidelity  to  the  word  of  God ;  and  owing  to  the 
well-known  activity  of  the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  and  the  journeys 
of  the  Vaudois  barbes,  who  travelled  in  all  directions  to  evan- 
gelize their  brethren,  the  churches  of  Bohemia,  and,  at  a  latter 
period,  those  of  Moravia,  entered  into  strict  fellowship  with  the 
Vaudois  churches  of  France  and  Piedmont.  And,  once  brought 
into  connexion  with  one  another,  these  two  churches,  both 
daughters  of  the  primitive  Church,  loved  each  other  as  two 

*  On  Pierre  Valdo  and  his  disciples,  see  chap.  VII.  of  this  history. 

t  Does  not  Valdo's  retiring  to  Bohemia,  authorize  us  to  believe  that  a  con- 
nexion had  already  existed  between  the  Church  of  Bohemia  and  the  Vaudois 
Church  ? 


142  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

sisters,  and  never  ceased  to  interchange  proofs  of  their  affec- 
tion. 

In  the  instance  now  before  us,  the  churches  of  Bohemia  and 
Moravia  testified  their  cordial  affection  and  esteem  for  the 
Vaudois  Church,  by  their  general  counsels,  given  in  the  spirit 
of  the  gospel.  It  is  evident,  by  the  letter  they  wrote,  and  which 
the  two  dissatisfied  barbes  brought  back  the  following  year, 
(1533,)  that  these  churches  had  been  but  imperfectly  informed ; 
but  we  may  at  least  infer  from  its  contents,  that  they  always  felt 
a  lively  interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  their  Vaudois  brethren. 
The  latter,  from  regard  to  their  brethren  of  Bohemia  and  Mo- 
ravia, held  a  synod  in  the  vale  of  San  Martino,  the  15th  of 
August,  1533  ;  and,  after  having  confirmed  the  resolutions  of  the 
synod  of  the  preceding  year,  decided  on  communicating  them, 
with  suitable  explanations,  in  a  fraternal  letter  to  the  churches 
of  Bohemia  and  Moravia.  In  consequence  of  this,  Jean  de 
Molines  and  Daniel  de  Valence  left  the  valleys,  never  to  return. 

This  strenuous  but  ineffectual  opposition  of  the  two  barbes, 
who  were,  moreover,  not  natives  of  the  Vaudois  valleys,  rendered 
the  intimate  agreement  of  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation  with 
that  of  the  Vaudois  still  more  apparent.  The  ancient  and  ven- 
erable Vaudois  Church,  still  faithful,  in  its  somewhat  impaired 
old  age,  to  the  true  apostolical  traditions,  came  forward  gladly 
to  hold  out  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  her  younger  sister, 
the  offspring  of  the  conscientious  study  of  the  Bible.  They  re- 
cognized each  other  as  children  of  the  same  Father — as  servants 
of  the  same  Lord ;  they  embraced  one  another,  feeling  them- 
selves to  be  one  in  God's  sight ;  and  acknowledging,  with  trans- 
ports of  delight,  that,  thus  blended,  they  were  the  beloved 
spouse  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Glory  be  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.     Amen ! 


RENEWAL  OF  PERSECUTION.  143 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

IMMEDIATE  EFFECTS  OF  THE  UNION  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  CHURCH 
WITH  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH. 

The  resolutions  adopted  at  the  synod  of  Angrogna,  in  1532, 
and  confirmed  the  following  year,  were  soon  put  in  practice. 
Repentance  for  preceding  acts  of  dissimulation  stimulated  ardent 
minds  to  give  proofs  of  the  sincerity  of  their  love  to  God,  and 
their  attachment  to  his  word.  A  clearer  view  of  their  duty 
strengthened  the  faith  of  the  feeblest:  a  zeal,  that  had  been 
languishing  for  some  years,  revived  afresh  in  all  hearts.  A 
Christian  life,  not  entirely  new,  but  renovated,  circulated  faith- 
fully through  all  the  branches  of  the  Yaudois  churches.  Barbes 
and  private  Christians  supported  one  another,  and  rendered 
mutual  aid  in  realizing  the  same  desire — that  of  glorifying  their 
Saviour  in  the  midst  of  idolaters.  Their  ardent  wish  was  to  re- 
produce in  their  actions  the  device  engraved  to  this  day  on  the 
seal  of  the  Vaudois  churches  of  Piedmont — a  light  shining  in 
darkness.  Proofs  in  confirmation  of  this  zeal  are  not  wanting : 
we  shall  adduce  them  in  their  proper  order. 

And,  first  of  all,  let  us  mention  an  external,  but  very  convinc- 
ing proof:  the  renewal  of  persecution  on  the  part  of  the  papists. 
Religious  animosity  never  pursues  the  lukewarm;  it  is  never 
roused  by  the  sight  of  timid  men,  who  dissemble,  and  whose  sole 
aim  is  to  escape  observation.  Resistance  and  opposition  alone 
provoke  it ;  antagonism  inflames  it.  Two  years  had  not  elapsed 
after  the  synod  of  Angrogna,  when  persecution  began ;  at  first 
in  Provence,  in  the  year  1534,  at  the  instigation  of  the  bishops 
of  Sisteron,  Apt,  and  Cavaillon,  and  in  the  following  year  in 
Piedmont,  by  the  endeavours  of  the  archbishop  of  Turin  and 
the  inquisitor  of  the  same  city.  The  duke  of  Savoy,  Charles 
HI.,  yielding  to  their  solicitations,  referred  the  cruel  office  of 
pursuing  the  pretended  Vaudois  heretics  to  a  nobleman  in  their 
neighbourhood,  the  lord  of  Rocheplatte,  Pantaleon  Bersour,  who, 
from  his  frequent  residence  at  his  chateau  of  Mirandol,  (Miran- 
deul,)  or  in  the  city  of  Pinerolo,  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley 
of  Perosa,  and  not  far  from  that  of  Lucerna,  had  greater  facilities 


144  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

than  any  other  person  of  knowing  the  places,  the  circumstances, 
and  the  men. 

For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  all  the  information  possible, 
Bersour,  furnished  with  ducal  letters  for  the  parliament  of  Pro- 
vence, betook  himself  to  the  dioceses  of  that  province  in  which 
persecution  had  recommenced.  Having  obtained  copies  of  the 
depositions  relative  to  the  accused,  as  well  as  permission  to 
assist  at  the  subsequent  examinations,  he  furnished  himself  by 
this  means  with  very  precise  data  relative  to  the  late  events,  and 
the  persons  who  were  the  most  devoted  to  the  interests  of  evan- 
gelical religion  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont.  For,  as  we  have 
already  said,  the  Vaudois  of  the  domains  of  the  duke  of  Savoy 
maintained  a  constant  connexion  with  those  of  Dauphine  and 
Provence,  and  their  barbes  often  passed  the  Alps,  to  edify  the 
churches  of  their  brethren.  It  was  even  found  that  many  of  the 
persons  who  had  been  apprehended  on  the  charge  of  heresy 
were  Piedmontese  subjects,  refugees  in  France,  and  that  one  of 
them  who  died  in  prison  was  from  Kocheplatte,  a  lordship  peo- 
pled with  Vaudois,  and  belonging  to  the  ducal  commissioner. 

On  his  return  to  Piedmont,  Bersour  laid  before  the  inqusitors 
the  list  of  denounced  or  suspected  Vaudois,  and  received  from 
the  Duke  Charles,  by  letters  patent  of  August  28, 1535,  an  order 
to  proceed  forthwith  to  inflict  punishment  on  the  offenders. 
Having  assembled  a  troop  of  about  five  hundred  picked  men, 
foot  and  horse  soldiers,  he  made  an  inroad  on  the  valley  of  An- 
grogna,  penetrating  it  by  way  of  Rocheplatte,  through  roads 
which  were  well  known  to  him.  But  the  enterprise  was  not 
more  than  half  successful.  The  disturbed  and  threatened  popu- 
lation had  placed  scouts,  who  gave  information  of  the  approach 
of  the  invader  soon  enough  to  dispute  the  victory,  and  to  snatch 
part  of  the  booty  from  him,  as  well  as  the  prisoners  made  at  the 
first  onset.  Strong  remonstrances  having  been  addressed  to  him 
by  the  Countess  Blanche,  widow  of  the  count  of  Lucerna,  and 
lord  of  Angrogna,  who  reproached  him  with  not  having  respected 
the  memory  of  her  husband,  and  with  having  treated  him,  her- 
self, and  their  children,  with  insult,  in  assailing  her  subjects 
without  her  knowledge,  Bersour  ceased  his  attacks  on  that  side 
and  among  the  mountains,  to  fall  upon  the  districts  of  the  plain 
instead,  which  were  inhabited  by  Vaudois.  With  these  unfor- 
tunate persons  he  filled  his  chateau  at  Mirandol,  the  prisons  and 


MARTIN  GONIN,  A  MARTYR.  145 

convents  of  Pinerolo,  and  the  inquisition  of  Turin,  where  Benoit 
de  Solariis  with  his  assessors  conducted  criminal  proceedings 
against  them.  A  great  number  of  them  suffered  in  the  flames. 
The  words  of  one  of  these  martyrs  of  the  faith  deserve  to  be 
preserved.  Catelan  Girardet,  who  had  been  arrested  at  Revel, 
in  this  same  year,  1535,  was  led  to  punishment.  When  he 
reached  the  pile,  he  asked  for  two  stones.  Having  received 
them,  he  rubbed  them  violently  one  against  the  other,  and  said 
to  the  attentive  spectators,  who  were  astonished  and  curious  to 
know  his  motive  for  so  strange  an  act,  "  You  think  to  abolish 
our  churches  by  your  persecutions,  but  you  can  no  more  do  it 
than  I  can  destroy  these  stones  with  my  hands,  or  eat  them." 

The  persecution  would  have  raged  much  longer,  if  political 
circumstances  had  not  all  at  once  put  an  end  to  it.  Francis  I., 
king  of  France,  laying  claim  to  certain  rights  in  Piedmont  on 
behalf  of  his  mother,  the  Queen  Louisa,  sister  of  Duke  Charles, 
and  demanding  a  passage  for  an  army  .intended  to  recover 
Milan,  had  met  with  a  refusal,  and  prepared  to  enter  his  uncle's 
domains  by  main  force.  The  fears  which  so  dangerous  a  situation 
excited  in  the  duke's  government,  forced  him  to  give  an  order 
which  humanity  and  sound  policy  would  have  previously  dicta- 
ted— namely,  to  stop  the  persecution  against  the  Vaudois.  In 
fact,  it  was  important  for  him  not  to  alienate  entirely  the  attach- 
ment of  the  population  that  was  settled  on  the  frontier  of  his 
enemy,  and  who  occupied  the  usual  passes  of  the  Alps,  and  had 
it  in  their  power  either  to  surrender  them,  and  thus  inflict  a 
severe  blow  on  their  imprudent  sovereign,  or  to  defend  them 
with  tried  fidelity,  and  to  be  a  substitute  in  their  valleys  for  a 
body  of  troops  which  he  might  then  send  elsewhere.  Thus 
Bersour's  persecution  was  suddenly  stopped. 

One  unfortunate  effect  for  the  Vaudois  valleys,  of  the  rupture 
otherwise  so  favourable  for  their  cause,  between  their  sovereign 
and  the  king  of  France,  was  the  arrest  and  death  of  one  of  their 
best  pastors,  Martin  Gonin,  of  Angrogna.  He  had  gone  to 
Geneva,  at  the  beginning  of  1536,  to  confer  there  on  ecclesi- 
astical affairs  with  some  learned  theologians,  and  to  make  a  pur- 
chase of  books.  He  was  endowed  with  superior  talents  and 
some  rare  qualities,  and  though  only  thirty-six,  had  already  tra- 
velled and  laboured  much  for  the  churches,  in  Piedmont  and 
elsewhere.     But,  on  his  return,  he  was  arrested  in  Dauphine; 

1 


146  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

being  a  Piedmontese,  he  was  taken  for  a  spy,  sent  to  observe  the 
preparations  for  war  in  France.  The  parliament  of  Grenoble 
having  pronounced  him  innocent,  he  was  on  the  point  of  being 
released ;  but  the  jailer,  on  searching  him,  found  some  papers 
relative  to  religion :  he  was  thereupon  again  imprisoned  and 
brought  to  trial  for  this  latter  fact.  When  examined  on  his  be- 
lief, he  made  a  frank  and  unreserved  confession  of  it,  and  he 
resisted,  at  the  same  time,  all  importunities  and  solicitations  to 
induce  him  to  change  his  religion,  and  was  condemned  to  be 
drowned  in  the  Isere.  This  barbarous  sentence  was  executed 
on  the  night  of  April  26,  1536.  It  was  apprehended,  that  if  it 
had  taken  place  in  the  day-time,  the  gentleness  and  pious  dis- 
course of  the  martyr  would  have  moved  and  shaken  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  spectators.  The  death  of  this  faithful  servant  of  God 
was  deeply  regretted  in  the  valleys,  where  he  was  justly  appre- 
ciated, and  where  the  want  of  pastors  began  to  be  felt. 

The  commitments, to  prison,  and  the  punishments  inflicted  for 
two  years  on  the  Vaudois  of  France  and  Piedmont,  are  not  the 
only  proofs  that  we  have  of  the  increase  of  Christian  life  among 
them  in  consequence  of  their  intercourse  with  the  reformers. 
They  gave  another  striking  proof  of  it,  during  the  very  time  of 
their  persecution,  in  defraying  the  cost  of  the  first  edition  of  the 
French  Bible.  They  contributed  for  this  object  fifteen  hundred 
gold  crowns — a  considerable  sum  at  that  time,  and  especially  for 
a  small  population  of  country  people  and  herdsmen.  It  was  at 
the  synod  of  Angrogna,  in  1532,  in  the  presence  of  Farel  and 
Saunier,  deputies  from  the  Swiss  churches,  that  in  consequence 
of  the  scarcity  of  manuscripts  of  the  sacred  books,  and  the  in- 
creasing difficulty  of  copying  them,  the  resolution  was  passed  for 
translating  into  French  and  printing  the  sacred  Scriptures,  both 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  P.  Kobert  Olivetan,  a  relation 
of  the  celebrated  Calvin,  the  reformer  of  Geneva,  was  commis- 
sioned to  undertake  this  work.  This  Bible  was  printed  in  folio, 
and  in  black  letter,  at  Neufchatel  in  Switzerland,  in  the  year 
1535,  by  Pierre  de  Wingle,  commonly  called  Piccard.  The 
Vaudois  spirit,  that  attachment  to  the  word  of  God  which  in 
former  ages  was  manifested  by  the  pains  taken  by  individuals  to 
commit  whole  books  to  memory,  now  reappeared  in  every  heart, 
renewing  its  youth,  and  eager  to  avail  itself  of  the  recent  inven- 
tion of  the  press,  to  facilitate,  for  all  who  knew  how  to  read,  the 


USE  OF  THE  FRENCH  LANGUAGE.       147 

possession,  at  a  trifling  expense,  of  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures.* 

Another  proof  of  the  increase  of  the  Christian  life  among  the 
Vaudois,  is,  on  the  one  hand,  the  zeal  displayed  in  preaching 
pure  doctrine,  and,  on  the  other,  the  eagerness  of  the  people  in 
coming  to  hear  it.  It  would  be  difficult  to  decide  which  showed 
the  most  courage  and  self-denial — the  preachers  who  sought  to 
do  good  to  souls,  or  the  hearers,  hungering  for  the  bread  of  life, 
flocking  to  their  faithful  shepherds,  without  dread  of  committing 
themselves,  often  even  at  the  peril  of  their  lives.  The  country 
people  came  in  crowds  to  the  appointed  places  of  meeting.  By 
degrees  the  citizens  and  inhabitants  of  the  plain  resorted  thither. 
Even  the  lords  protected  the  evangelical  faith,  and  openly  de- 
clared themselves  in  its  favour.  In  a  short  time  the  barbes  were 
not  sufficiently  numerous  for  their  work,  and  the  new  cares 
which  claimed  their  attention.  Those  among  them  whose  office 
it  was  to  instruct  and  train  candidates  for  the  sacred  ministry,! 
were  obliged  to  cease  from  this  employment,  in  order  to  give 
themselves  entirely  to  preaching  and  the  care  of  souls.  They 
soon  found  it  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  foreign  academies 
belonging  to  the  reformed — that  of  Geneva,  for  example — either 
to  send  thither  young  Vaudois  who  had  devoted  themselves  to 
the  evangelical  ministry,  or  to  obtain  additional  pastors,  from 
thence,  who  were  now  required,  on  account  of  the  increasing 
number  of  the  congregations  and  hearers  of  the  truth. 

From  this  period  may  be  dated  the  use  of  the  French  lan- 
guage in  the  worship  of  the  Vaudois  valleys  of  Piedmont. 
Hitherto  it  had  been  carried  on  in  the  common  language  of  the 
country,  that  is,  in  the  Romance  language,  in  which  all  their 
ancient  writings  were  composed.  Henceforth  the  French  was 
generally  employed, J  for  the  editions  of  the  Bible  printed  at  the 
expense  of  the  Vaudois  and  circulated  in  their  houses  were  in 
this  language,  and  the  body  of  pastors  likewise  spoke  it,  owing 
either  to  their  origin,  or  the  course  of  their  studies. — GMes, 
chs.  vii,  viii. — Perrin,  p.  161. 

*  Perrin,  Hist,  des  Vaudois,  p.  161— Gilles,  chap,  vii,  pp.  43,  44— Ruchat,  In- 
formation, etc.,  t.  iii,  pp.  176-403. 

t  This  fact  evidently  implies  the  existence  of  that  school  of  the  barbes  in  the 
Pra-di-Torre,  which  we  have  before  mentioned. 

t  In  civil  affairs  the  Italian  language  was  used. 


148  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  religious  movement  which  had  commenced  at  the  synod 
of  Angrogna,  in  1532,  extended  and  strengthened  itself  still 
more  when  the  political  differences  between  Piedmont  and 
France  supervened,  and  particularly  when  the  latter  power  in- 
vaded and  occupied  the  territory  of  the  former.  The  attention 
of  the  government  being  absorbed  by  concerns  which  seemed 
more  pressing,  it  neglected  for  years  to  watch  or  to  check  the 
proceedings  of  the  Vaudois ;  and  it  was  not  roused  till  the  papists, 
surprised,  confounded,  and  irritated  by  the  success  of  the  once 
oppressed  Church,  raised  the  cry  of  alarm.  The  priests  who  had 
been  previously  settled  in  the  valleys,*  having  lost  all  hope  of 
ever  seeing  the  people  brought  under  Romish  domination,  and 
judging  that  for  the  future  no  further  revenue  would  be  obtained 
from  them,  voluntarily  withdrew  in  despair ;  and  with  them  went 
the  Mass.  That  these  happy  results  took  place  is  not  denied  by 
Roman  Catholic  writers ;  so  far  from  it,  they  complain  of  them 
bitterly.  This  is  done  by  Father  Belvedere,  in  his  report,  ad- 
dressed, in  1636,  to  the  Congregation  for  the  propagation  of  the 
faith,  in  which  he  makes  many  mistakes,  and,  amongst  others, 
has  this  absurdity — that  the  reformer  Farel  had  been  appointed 
governor  of  the  valleys  by  a  count  of  Wurtemberg,  in  the  name 
of  the  king  of  France,  and  had  persecuted  the  papists.  But, 
however  singular  the  explanations  he  gives  of  the  facts  that  he 
reports  may  be,  the  latter  fully  confirm  all  that  we  have  stated. 
Among  other  things,  he  says  expressly :  "  The  heresy  had  reached 
such  a  height  in  the  valley,  (of  Lucerna,)  that  from  all  parts  of 
Piedmont,  subject  to  the  king,  people  came  to  hear  the  preach- 
ers, contrary  to  the  king's  wish,  who  either  was  ignorant  of  it,  or 
pretended  to  be  so." — Oilles,  c.  vii,  p.  45 — Perrin,  p.  161. 

But,  while  the  Vaudois  of  Piedmont  enjoyed  the  respite  which 
political  commotions  had  obtained  for  them,  in  their  religious 
concerns,  and  made  use  of  it  to  consolidate  and  extend  their 
Church,  they  received  most  melancholy  intelligence  respecting 
their  brethren  the  Vaudois  of  Provence,  of  which  we  shall  now 
proceed  to  give  an  account.  (See  what  has  been  already  said 
in  Chapter  XV.) 

The  reader  will  recollect,  no  doubt,  those  flourishing  Vaudois 
Churches,  founded  in  Provence,  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  in  the  valleys  that  border  on  the  Durance,  to  the  east 

*  It  is  still  a  question  in  what  part  of  the  valleys  they  were  established. 


PERSECUTIONS  RENEWED.  14& 

of  Cavaillon.  Here  were  situated  the  towns  and  villages  of 
Cabrieres,  Merindol,  Lormarin,  Cadenet,  Gordes,  and  many 
others  besides,  as  celebrated  for  their  long  prosperity  and  high 
reputation,  as  for  the  terrible  persecution  which  put  an  end  to 
their  existence. 

Already,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  efforts  had 
been  made  to  prejudice  King  Louis  XII.  against  them.  They 
had  been  represented  to  him  as  infamous  people,  who,  having 
separated  from  the  Church  of  Rome,  lived  in  the  commission  of 
all  kinds  of  abominations.  But  the  king,  having  sent  to  these 
places  two  honourable  men,  in  whom  he  placed  confidence, 
namely,  his  confessor  Parvi,  and  Adam  Fumee,  master  of  re- 
quests, who  made  a  favourable  report  of  the  manners  and  piety 
of  the  people,  gave  orders  that  they  should  be  left  undisturbed. — 
La  Mothe-Langon,  t.  iii,  p.  425. 

In  the  year  1534,  under  Francis  I.,  the  searchings,  punish- 
ments, and  imprisonments  on  religious  accounts  were  begun  anew. 
The  parliament  of  Aix,  at  the  instigation  of  the  bishops  of  Siste- 
ron,  Apt,  and  Cavaillon,  had  proceeded  with  rigour  against  the 
Vaudois  of  these  countries,  as  we  have  mentioned  a  few  pages  be- 
fore. The  parliament  allowed  itself  to  be  so  deceived  and  blind- 
ed by  intrigue,  calumny,  and  fanaticism,  that  in  1540  it  condemn- 
ed the  Vaudois  to  general  destruction,  to  the  loss  of  life  and  pro- 
perty, and  their  country  to  be  made  a  desert.  The  benevolent 
intervention  of  Guillaume  du  Bellay,  lord  of  Langey,  and  governor 
of  Piedmont,  since  it  had  been  occupied  by  the  French,  retarded 
the  execution  of  the  ordinance.  He  had  the  courage  to  repre- 
sent to  the  king  the  injustice  of  this  barbarous  decree.  He  showed 
that  it  would  affect  a  worthy  population,  who  were  distinguished 
among  other  virtues  for  temperance,  chastity,  patience,  fidelity 
to  their  prince,  industry,  hospitality,  and  a  genuine  piety  devoid 
of  superstition.  Enlightened  by  the  judgment  of  this  honourable 
lord,  Francis  I.  refused  to  confirm  this  sentence.  But  as  irrita- 
ting calumnies  were  spread  without  ceasing  against  the  unfor- 
tunate Vaudois,  and  false  rumours  designedly  circulated,  till  they 
reached  the  ears  of  the  king,  accusing  this  peaceable  people  of 
plots  against  the  government,  of  clandestine  armaments,  and  even 
of  levying  troops  with  the  intention  of  getting  into  Marseilles,  it 
might  be  anticipated  that  the  fatal  blow  would  soon  be  struck. 
The  drawn  sword  and  lighted  torch  which  Romish  hatred  waved 


150  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

in  menace  over  the  heads  of  its  victims  only  waited  the  signal  for 
general  havoc.  At  last  it  was  given. — Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  330. — Gril- 
les, p.  47. 

Francis  I.,  at  the  instigation  of  one  of  the  princes  of  the  Romish 
Church,  a  pretended  successor  of  the  apostles,  the  odious  cardi- 
nal de  Tournon,  decreed  the  punishment  of  the  Vaudois  of  Pro- 
vence. On  the  first  news  of  this  alarming  project,  the  evangeli- 
cal cantons  of  Switzerland  vainly  interceded  in  the  most  urgent 
manner  with  the  king ;  all  they  obtained  was  a  dry  answer  not 
to  meddle  with  the  affairs  of  his  government,  any  more  than  he 
would  trouble  himself  about  theirs.  Calvin,  the  illustrious  re- 
former of  Geneva,  would  have  gone  and  thrown  himself  at  the 
feet  of  the  French  monarch,  but  had  been  taken  ill,  and  Farel 
was  too  much  oppressed  by  the  infirmities  of  age  to  undertake 
the  journey.  Yiret,  one  of  the  reformers  of  the  Pays  de  Vaud, 
set  out  to  request  favour  for  his  co-religionists,  bearing  with  him 
letters  of  recommendation,  not  only  from  the  reformed  states  of 
Switzerland,  but  also  from  the  Protestant  states  of  the  league  of 
Smalkald.  But  all  these  efforts  at  mediation  were  useless. — Ru~ 
chat,  t.  v,  p.  253. 

The  order  for  destroying  the  heretics  of  Provence  having  been 
once  issued,  no  time  was  lost  in  putting  it  into  execution.  A 
hard-hearted,  avaricious  man,  irritated,  moreover,  it  is  said,  be- 
cause a  lady  who  possessed  the  seignorial  right  of  many  of  the 
Vaudois  villages  had  refused  him  her  hand— John  Meinier,  ba- 
ron d'Oppede,  first  president  of  the  parliament  of  Provence,  and 
royal  lieutenant  of  the  province,  in  the  absence  of  count  de  Gri- 
gnan,  marched  against  the  innocent  people  whom  he  had  disgrace- 
fully calumniated.  At  the  head  of  a  troop  of  the  militia  of  Pro- 
vence, besides  two  thousand  regular  soldiers,  and  accompanied 
by  commissioners,  nominally  his  colleagues,  but  in  reality  quite 
under  his  influence,  he  attacked  his  devoted  victims  in  April, 
1545.  These  poor  people,  whom  he  had  represented  to  the  king 
as  armed  rebels,  furnished  with  all  the  munitions  of  war,  and  in- 
trenched in  places  difficult  of  access,  never  dreamed  of  defending 
themselves ;  they  saw  no  safety  but  in  flight. 

A  modern  author  gives  the  following  account  of  this  atrocious 
transaction  : — "  The  shrill  outcries,"  he  writes,  "  the  blasts  of 
the  savage  horns,  and  other  signals  in  use  at  this  period,  to  an- 
nounce the  approach  of  a  hostile  force,  warned  the  Vaudois  in 


PERSECUTION  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  OF  PROVENCE.       151 

the  different  villages  and  hamlets,  of  the  coming  of  the  terrible 
Oppede.  Every  one  abandoned  his  home,  leaving  his  little  for- 
tune in  it ;  each  wished  to  save  his  aged  father,  his  wife,  his  chil- 
dren, and  nothing  more.  They  hastened  to  the  mountains  or 
the  neighbouring  rocks,  or  the  bottom  of  precipices,  without 
sparing  a  thought  on  what  they  had  left,  or  rather  hoping  that 
the  love  of  plunder  would  detain  their  persecutors,  and  turn  them 
aside  from  the  pursuit. 

"  During  this  time,  the  Catholic  army  set  fire  to  the  houses, 
filled  up  the  wells  and  fountains,  tore  up  the  vines,  cut  down  the 
trees,  left  not  one  stone  on  another,  sparing  neither  gardens,  nor 
hospitals,  nor  bridges,  in  a  word,  nothing  that  existed  in  this  un- 
fortunate country.  The  Vaudois,  dying  with  hunger  and  sor- 
row, exhausted  with  fatigue  and  want,  continued  their  uncertain 
march.  In  a  short  time,  the  women,  children,  and  old  men,  over- 
come by  fatigue,  were  forced  to  stop.  They  were  abandoned  in 
despair;*  and  yet  some  hope  was  indulged  that  all  Christian 
charity  would  not  be  extinguished  in  the  heart  of  these  devout 
assassins ;  that  they  would  not  dare  to  butcher  weakness,  inno- 
cence, and  decrepitude.  A  Piedmontese  soldier  unexpectedly 
found  this  troop  of  wretched  fugitives  in  a  kind  of  plain,  and  from 
the  mountain  above  rolled  down  stones  to  warn  them  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  band  of  murderers  commanded  by  the  baron  de 
la  Garde.  But  no  strength  was  left  to  the  remains  of  this  Vau- 
dois troop, — they  stirred  not,  but  awaited  their  fate  with  resigna- 
tion. The  soldiery,  guided  by  the  monkish  inquisitors,!  rushed 
upon  the  women,  whom  they  treated  with  such  licentious  indig- 
nity that  the  greater  number  died  on  the  spot,  without  a  wish  to 
survive  their  honour ;  the  rest  perished  of  suffering  and  hunger, 
after  having  been  stripped  even  of  their  last  garment. 

The  expedition  commenced  on  the  14th  of  April,  with  the 
sacking  of  Cadenet.  On  the  16th,  they  set  fire  to  the  villages  of 
Pepin,  La-Mothe,  and  Saint  Martin,  belonging  to  the  countess 
of  Ceudal,  (the  same  who  had  refused  her  hand  to  Oppede.) 
There  the  poor  labourers  were  slain  without  making  resistance ; 

*  Gilles  says,  p.  49,  that  they  were  about  five  hundred. 

t  Gilles,  in  his  history,  mentions  this  fact  as  having  occurred  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  villages,  which  is  very  probable.  To  be  just,  we  ought  to  add  that 
he  does  not  relate  these  indignities  ;  that  he  says,  on  the  contrary,  that  one  of 
their  leaders  prevented  them  at  this  time  from  committing  those  abominable 
acts  which  they  perpetrated  elsewhere. 


152  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

as  to  the  females,  the  young  were  violated,  and  the  pregnant 
women,  with  the  children,  were  massacred.  From  some  they 
cut  off  their  breasts ;  the  elder  children  and  mere  babes  might 
be  seen  dying  of  hunger  on  the  corpses  of  their  mothers,  for  the 
baron  d' Oppede  had  interdicted  all  persons  (under  pain  of  being 
hung)  from  furnishing  provisions  to  any  one  of  this  accursed  race. 
The  population  of  these  places  were  swept  entirely  away,  either 
by  the  flames  or  the  sword.  Only  those  were  saved  alive  who 
were  destined  to  work  in  the  galleys. 

On  the  1 7th  of  April,  Oppede,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  Pied- 
montese,  who  had  been  formed  into  regiments  at  the  expense  of 
France,  advanced  towards  the  villages  of  Lormarin,  Ville-Laure, 
and  Trezemines,  which  were  burned  by  his  orders  on  the  fol- 
lowing day ;  while  the  wretches  who  came  from  Aries  on  this 
sacrilegious  crusade  set  fire  to  Genson  and  Laroque,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Durance.  Oppede,  whose  approach  justly  inspired 
terror,  found  in  Merindol  only  one  young  man,  Maurisi  Blanc, 
a  half-witted  lad,  who  surrendered  to  a  soldier  on  conditions  of 
being  allowed  to  ransom  himself  for  two  crowns.  Oppede,  ap- 
parently assenting  to  these  terms,  paid  the  two  crowns,  and  claim- 
ing Blanc  as  his  own,  caused  him  to  be  tied  to  a  mulberry  tree, 
and  shot. 

The  two  hundred  houses  which  formed  the  village  of  Merindol 
were  entirely  razed,  after  having  been  set  on  fire  on  the  18th. 
Cabrieres  still  remained :  it  was  a  large  fortified  town,  and  situa- 
ted three  leagues  from  Cavaillon.  The  inhabitants  had  closed 
the  gates :  cannon  were  brought  to  force  them  open  on  the  1 9th. 
On  the  first  discharge  of  artillery,  those  who  were  in  the  place 
cried  out  to  the  besiegers  that  they  made  a  show  of  resistance 
not  from  a  spirit  of  disobedience  to  the  king's  orders,  but  only  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  first  attack  of  a  furious  soldiery,  and 
that  they  would  voluntarily  surrender  themselves,  provided  their 
lives  were  guaranteed,  and  that  they  might  be  allowed  free  egress 
to  go  to  a  foreign  land,  to  pray  according  to  their  own  views. 
The  lord  of  Cabrieres  accompanied  the  assailants.  He  made 
terms  for  his  vassals,  and  was  promised  that  their  cause  should 
be  carried  before  the  parliament,  and  that  no  violence  should 
precede  the  judicial  decision.  The  terms  of  capitulation  being 
concluded,  Cabrieres  surrendered.  Oppede,  no  longer  con- 
cealing the  black  villany  of  his  heart,  caused  all  the_men  to  be 


TRANQUILLITY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  OF  PIEDMONT.    153 

seized,  to  the  number  of  sixty.  They  were  led  to  an  adjacent 
meadow,  and  by  his  orders  cut  in  pieces.  "  Cut  in  pieces,"  we 
say, — for  they  cut  off  their  heads  and  limbs,  uttering  all  the  while 
the  most  horrible  blasphemies  and  shouts  of  victory.  The  females 
of  all  ages,  with  child  or  not,  were  shut  up  in  a  barn,  which  was 
then  set  on  fire.  One  soldier,  touched  with  pity,  (and  who  there- 
fore must  have  been  an  indifferent  Catholic,)  made  an  opening 
in  the  wall,  that  they  might  save  themselves ;  but  his  comrades 
pushed  them  back  into  the  flames  with  their  pikes  and  halberds. 
Many  Vaudois  were  found  alive  in  caves,  where  they  had  con- 
cealed themselves.  They  were  brought  out  into  the  great  hall 
of  the  chateau,  and  massacred  in  the  presence  of  the  baron  d'Op- 
pede.  Eight  hundred  persons  of  both  sexes  had  sought  an  asy- 
lum in  the  Church ;  the  dissolute  rabble  of  Avignon,  who  had 
run  together  to  take  part  in  the  pillage  and  murder,  received  the 
commission  to  massacre  them  all  without  mercy. 

Similar  enormities  were  committed  in  La  Coste,  and  in  all  other 
parts  of  the  country  inhabited  by  the  Yaudois.  It  is  too  painful 
to  continue  the  recital.  One  fact,  however,  may  be  mentioned. 
Some  who  were  concealed  in  retired  places  implored  Oppede  to 
be  content  with  taking  their  property,  and  to  allow  them  to  re- 
tire to  Geneva.  His  answer  was,  "  I  will  send  you  to  dwell  in 
hell  with  devils,  you,  your  wives,  and  your  children ;  so  that  no 
memorial  of  you  shall  be  left." 

Twenty-two  Vaudois  villages  were  burned  ;  nearly  five  thou- 
sand persons  lost  their  lives ;  seven  hundred  men  were  sent  to 
the  galleys.     The  name  of  Vaudois  disappeared  from  Provence. 

A  general  cry  of  indignation  was  raised  throughout  France ; 
but  the  cardinal  de  Tournon  became  the  apologist  of  the  assas- 
sins to  the  king.  Yet  it  is  said  that  Francis'  conscience  was  op- 
pressed and  tormented  by  the  deed,  and  that  on  his  death-bed, 
two  years  after,  he  expressly  enjoined  his  son,  Henry  II.,  to  chas- 
tise its  perpetrators.  Most  of  them,  however,  escaped  punish- 
ment.— La  Mothe-Langon,  t.  ii,  pp.  429-442. — Gilles,  ch.  vii, 
p.  47.— Ruchat,  t.  v,  p.  253. 

While  the  Vaudois  of  Provence  experienced  the  utmost  seve- 
rity of  a  government  enslaved  to  the  priests  of  Rome,  and  vio- 
lently prejudiced  against  evangelical  truth,  the  Vaudois  of  Pied- 
mont enjoyed  a  far  better  position. 

The  authority  of  Francis  I.  in  Piedmont  being  a  usurpation, 
7* 


154  HISTORY  Otf  THE   VAUDOIS. 

this  prince,  who  persecuted  the  reformed  in  his  own  hereditary 
kingdom  to  the  utmost,  was  obliged  to  proceed  with  more  cau- 
tion against  the  pretended  heretics  of  his  new  domains,  lest  his 
violence  should  serve  as  a  pretext  for  rebellions,  and  consequent- 
ly lead  to  complicated  embarrassments.  Not  but  that,  at  inter- 
vals, harsh  measures  had  been  adopted,  and  some  had  even  suf- 
fered death.*  But,  compared  with  what  took  place  elsewhere, 
the  external  position  of  the  Vaudois  Church  in  Piedmont  was 
favourable.  As  to  its  interior  life  it  Avas  most  satisfactory,  and 
left  nothing  to  be  desired,  as  was  said  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter.  During  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  French  occupan- 
cy, from  1536,  the  Vaudois,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  the 
Christian  spirit,  was  so  spread  or  manifested,  not  only  throughout 
all  the  extent  of  the  valleys,  but  through  all  Piedmont,  that  there 
were  few  towns  or  villages  of  any  importance  where  some  of 
their  brethren  or  friends  were  not  to  be  found,  and  among  them 
even  lords  and  persons  of  distinction. 

The  concourse  of  hearers  who  flocked  from  all  the  hamlets  of 
the  valleys  and  different  places  in  lower  Piedmont  round  their 
pastor  for  instruction  and  edification,  became  so  great,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  avoid  something  like  display  in  the  assemblies 
of  the  faithful.  The  meetings  were  become  entirely  public,  con- 
formably to  the  decision  of  the  synod  of  Angrogna,  in  1532,  when 
they  took  the  last  step  in  this  act  of  fidelity  by  constructing  tem- 
ples. Before  that  time  they  had  held  their  meetings  either  at 
the  houses  of  the  barbes,  or  of  private  individuals,  or  in  the  open 
air.  It  was  at  Angrogna,  that  bulwark  of  the  Vaudois  Church, 
that  the  first  temple  was  built  in  the  place  called  San  Lorenzo. 
Soon  after  another  was  erected  in  the  same  commune,  but  higher 
up  in  the  valley,  at  a  place  called  Le  Serre,  about  half  an  hour's 
walk  from  the  former.  In  the  same  year  (1555)  several  other 
communes  of  the  vale  of  Lucerna  put  their  hand  to  the  work  for 
the  same  purpose;  and  in  1556,  several  temples  were  raised  in 
the  valley  of  San  Martino  for  the  Vaudois,  or  evangelical  worship. 

While  many  hearts  rejoiced,  in  1555,  and  rendered  lively 
thanks  to  God  for  the  building  of  these  edifices,  many  were  also 
grieved,  and  many  tears  were  shed,  in  the  same  year,  at  the 

*  It  is  alleged  that  Francis  I.  replied  to  the  humble  appeals  of  these  pretended 
heretics,  that  he  would  not  burn  them  in  France  to  support  them  in  the  Alps. 
Lcger,  t.  ii,  p.  28 


DANGER  INCURRED  BY  TWO  PASTORS.  155 

news  of  the  martyrdom  of  two  of  their  dear  pastors.*  Being  na- 
tives of  France,  and  refugees  at  Geneva,  they  had  responded  to 
an  appeal  from  the  valleys,  and  had  come  there  to  exercise  their 
ministry,  and  subsequently  undertook  a  journey  to  Geneva.  On 
their  return  from  this  city  to  their  faithful  flocks,  in  company 
with  threef  French  Protestants,  they  were  arrested  at  the  Col 
de  Tamiers,  in  Savoy,  and  suffered  martyrdom  at  Chambery,  to- 
wards the  end  of  April,  1555,  after  having  avowed  their  faith,  and 
obtained  a  glorious  victory  over  all  temptations.  Some  weeks 
before,  the  parliament  of  Turin  had  burned  in  the  castle-yard, 
in  this  last-mentioned  city,  the  bookseller  Barthelemi  Hector,  of 
Poitiers,  whom  some  persons  of  the  higher  ranks  in  the  Vaudois 
valley  of  San  Martino  had  delivered  to  the  inquisition,  on  the 
charge  of  having  come  to  sell  Genevese  books  in  the  valley. 
His  sincere  answers  and  courageous  confession  of  faith  affected 
the  hearts  even  of  some  of  his  judges.  But  the  cold  and  selfish 
considerations  of  the  world  dictated  the  sentence  of  death.  The 
multitude  who  surrounded  his  funeral  pile  testified  their  lively 
interest  by  many  tears ;  and  from  their  midst  might  be  heard 
murmurs  and  invectives  not  a  few,  against  the  monks  and  inqui- 
sitors. 

Two  other  ministers  also,  about  the  same  time,  were  exposed 
to  imminent  danger  in  Savoy.  The  barbe  Gilles,  of  the  Gilles 
family,  on  his  return  from  the  colonies  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples, 
having  passed  through  Venice,  and  cleared  the  frontiers  of  Ger- 
many, was  bringing  Etienne  Noel,  a  Frenchman  from  Lausanne, 
to  the  valleys.  One  day  they  fell  in  with  a  company  of  officers 
of  justice  at  an  inn.  Being  compelled,  by  the  artful  civilities  of 
the  chief  of  the  archers,  to  sup  with  him,  they  had  great  difficulty 
not  to  commit  themselves  in  answering  his  wily  questions  about 
their  occupations,  and  the  object  of  their  journey.  Perceiving, 
on  rising  from  table,  that  they  had  not  laid  asleep  all  the  suspi- 
cions of  their  examiner,  and  that  he  seemed  hardly  willing  to  post- 
pone further  interrogatories  to  the  next  day,  they  proposed  re- 
tiring to  rest,  with  the  view  of  proceeding  on  their  route  without 
delay.  Their  compassionate  host,  being  well  rewarded,  gave  them 
some  addresses,  and  having  let  them  out  privately,  they  gained 

*  They  were  Jean  Vernou,  of  Poitiers,  and  Antoine  Labori,  of  Qucrcy. 
t  Guiraud  Tauran,  of  Cahors,  Jean  Frigulet,  of  Nismes,  doctor  of  laws,  and 
Bertrand  Bataille,  a  student  of  Gascony. 


156  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  fields,  the  woods,  and  the  mountains,  and  happily  reached  the 
valleys,  praising  God  for  so  great  a  deliverance.  Noel  was  nomi- 
nated pastor  of  Angrogna,  and  Gilles  of  Villaro. 

At  this  period,  several  pastors,  most  of  them  French,  but  some 
Italians,  arrived  in  the  valleys.  One  of  the  former,  Humbert 
Artus,  a  little  after  his  installation  at  Bobbio,  was  one  day  sur- 
rounded by  the  magistrate,  monks,  and  other  papists  of  the  place, 
eager  to  enter  into  a  debate  with  him,  and  conducting  themselves 
very  tumultuously.  But  when  he  required  that  the  discussion 
should  be  in  due  form  and  order,  and  offered  to  maintain  it  in 
Latin,  Greek,  or  Hebrew,  whichever  they  chose,  and  on  any 
subject  they  pleased,  these  eager  gainsay ers  withdrew  in  confu- 
sion, and  left  him  in  peace. 

The  year  1556,  the  twentieth  of  the  French  domination  in  Pied- 
mont, was  marked  by  an  attempt  to  bring  the  mass  of  the  Vau- 
dois  within  the  pale  of  the  Romish  Church,  by  the  .joint  influence 
of  persuasion  and  threats.  The  parliament  of  Turin,  besides 
being  prompted  by  the  pope's  agents,  and  the  orders  of  Henry 
H.,  king  of  France,  had  lately  heard  of  the  erection  of  Vaudois 
temples  in  various  parts  of  the  valleys.  Indignant  at  this  auda- 
cious proceeding,  they  devolved  the  business  of  repressing  heresy 
on  two  of  their  members,  the  president  de  Saint  Julien  and  the 
councillor  de  Ecclesia,  (della  Chiesa,)  who  set  out  on  their  mis- 
sion in  March,  with  a  numerous  retinue.  In  the  valley  of  Pe- 
rosa,  where  at  that  time  there  was  no  pastor,  and  everybody  fled 
at  their  approach,  they  found  not  a  single  person  to  converse  with. 
Having  reached  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  they  there  published 
an  edict  menacing  those  who  should  resist,  but  conciliating  and 
flattering  those  who  should  hasten  to  make  their  submission. 
Having  met  with  no  success,  they  descended  to  Pinerolo,  where 
they  caused  a  number  of  accused  persons  to  be  brought  before 
them,  several  of  whom  they  condemned  to  various  punishments. 
It  was  on  this  occasion  that  a  labourer,  whom  they  asked  why  he 
had  brought  his  child  for  baptism  to  the  temple  at  Angrogna,  re- 
plied,— because  baptism  was  there  administered  according  to  the 
institution  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  same  man,  being  ordered  to 
have  his  child  re-baptized  immediately,  and  having  obtained  per-' 
mission  to  pray  before  he  gave  his  answer,  embarrassed  de  St. 
Julien  extremely,  when  he  said  to  him,  after  praying,  "  Be  pleased 
first  to  give  me  a  writing,  signed  with  your  own  hand,  by  which 


PARLIAMENT  OF  TURIN.  157 

you  absolve  me  from  the  sin  I  may  commit  in  re-baptizing  my 
child,  and  take  upon  yourself  the  punishment  I  may  incur  before 
God."  The  president,  astonished  at  this  language,  contented 
himself  with  saying,  coldly,  "  I  have  my  own  sins  to  answer  for, 
without  charging  myself  with  yours.  Take  yourself  out  of  my 
sight,"  Departing  immediately,  the  poor  man  was  not  troubled 
again  about  the  matter. — Le'ger,  pt.  ii,  p.  28. 

Wishing  to  produce  a  deep  impression  on  the  valley  of  Lu- 
cerna,  the  commissaries  made  their  appearance  at  Angrogna, 
accompanied  by  a  great  number  of  lords,  priests,  and  monks, 
besides  their  ordinary  attendants.  The  president,  after  visiting 
the  two  temples,  ordered  one  of  the  monks  to  preach.  The 
pastors  and  people  were  obliged  to  listen  to  a  discourse  which 
urged  them  to  become  obedient  to  Rome ;  and  when  they  re- 
quested that  a  pastor  might  speak  in  reply,  they  were  met  by  a 
refusal.  The  president  then  addressed  the  assembly  in  the 
names  of  the  king,  the  Marshal  de  Brissac,  his  lieutenant  in 
Piedmont,  and  the  parliament  of  Turin ;  he  summoned  them  to 
turn  papists,  and  to  deliver  up  their  pastors,  threatening  them, 
in  case  of  refusal,  with  similar  ruin  to  that  which  had  destroyed 
their  brethren  in  Provence.* 

To  all  this,  the  people,  worthy  of  their  pious  ancestors,  replied 
with  the  most  admirable  simplicity  and  fidelity,  that  they  were 
resolved  to  live  agreeably  to  the  word  of  God,  in  obedience  to 
all  their  superiors,  in  all  things  possible,  so  that  God  were  not 
wronged ;  that  as  to  their  religion,  if  it  could  be  proved  by  the 
word  of  God  that  they  were  in  error,  they  were  ready  to  ac- 
knowledge it.  The  president,  on  the  following  days,  went 
through  the  Vaudois  communes  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna. 
Things  took  exactly  the  same  course  there  as  in  Angrogna. 
Neither  threats  nor  caresses  could  lead  astray  the  descendants 
of  so  long  a  series  of  pious  servants  of  God. 

This  general  appeal  having  been  unsuccessful,  St.  Julien  had 
recourse  to  special  measures  with  individuals.  He  sent  for  the 
principal  persons  separately,  flattered  them,  made  them  tempting 

*  See  the  summary  of  the  edict  in  Gilles,  whom  we  have  followed  in  this 
fact,  p.  58.  In  the  following  paper  are  the  answers  that  were  made  by  the 
Vaudois  churches,  and  particularly  a  brief  confession  of  faith,  conformable  in 
other  respects  to  what  we  know  of  the  Vaudois.— See  also  Leger,  pt.  ii,  pp. 
106,  107. 


158  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

offers,  or  tried  to  terrify  them  by  threats ;  but  all  in  vain.  He 
addressed  himself  a  second  and  a  third  time  to  the  communes, 
but  they  remained  immovable.  Their  answers  were  always 
dignified,  firm,  and  respectful.  Their  actions  evinced  true 
Christian  courage.  Always  and  universally  they  refused  to  give 
up  their  ministers  and  schoolmasters. — Gilles,  p.  58. — Leger,  pt. 
ii,  pp.  106,  107. 

Little  satisfied  with  the  result  of  his  efforts,  the  president  St. 
Julien  made  his  way  back  to  Turin  with  his  colleague,  della 
Chiesa.  Their  report  rendered  no  assistance  to  the  deliberations 
of  the  parliament,  who,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  sent  the  above- 
named  commissioners  to  France,  to  lay  the  answers  of  the  Vau- 
dois  before  the  king  and  his  council,  and  to  give  all  requisite 
explanations  by  word  of  mouth.  As  the  royal  will  was  not 
known  by  the  parliament  till  after  the  lapse  of  a  year,  the 
churches  of  the  valleys  enjoyed  during  that  term  the  delightful 
fruits  of  peace,  contrary  to  the  desires  and  attempts  of  their  ad- 
versaries. 

An  enemy  more  dangerous  to  their  souls  than  persecution 
itself  sought  to  instil  a  subtle  and  mortal  poison  into  the  con- 
sciences of  the  Vaudois  believers,  and  the  Protestants  scattered 
through  Turin  and  the  other  towns  or  villages  of  Piedmont. 
This  was  Dominic  Baronius,  of  Florence,  a  popish  preacher. 
This  man,  for  a  long  time  not  understood,  condemned  in  his 
book  on  the  Roman  Constitutions,  and  in  other  works,  the  prin- 
cipal errors  of  his  Church,  and  approved,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, of  the  truths  proclaimed  by  the  Vaudois  and  reformed 
churches.  But  notwithstanding  this,  he  endeavoured  to  persuade 
persons  that,  according  to  times  and  places,  it  was  allowable  to 
conceal  one's  belief,  by  taking  a  part  in  contrary  practices,  even, 
for  example,  to  go  to  Mass,  provided  that  it  was  disapproved  of 
entirely,  and  sound  doctrine  held.  Such  principles  might  have 
stifled  the  germ  of  spiritual  life  in  many  hearts  too  much  inclined 
to  worldly  prudence,  if  the  prayers  and  representations  of  the 
pastors  of  the  valleys,  as  likewise  the  letters  of  the  ministers  of 
Geneva,  and  especially  a  book  written  by  one  of  them,  the 
Italian  Celse  Martinengo,  had  not  refuted  such  wretched  doc- 
trines, and  combated  such  lax  and  degrading  sentiments. 

The  glorious  death  of  two  martyrs  of  the  Christian  faith  pro- 
claimed still  more  loudly  the  duty  of  confessing  one's  belief  in 


SARTOIRE    A3L>    VARAILLE.  159 

the  face  of  persecutors.  One  of  these  faithful  witnesses  of  the 
truth  was  Nicolas  Sartoire,  of  Quiers,  in  Piedmont,  a  young  man 
at  that  age  when  life  appears  most  attractive,  and  a  student 
educated  at  the  expense  of  the  republic  of  Berne,  who  came  to 
pass  a  few  weeks  in  his  native  country,  by  way  of  relaxation 
from  his  studies.  He  had  scarcely  stepped  across  the  frontier 
when  he  was  arrested,  and  instead  of  the  pleasure  he  anticipated 
he  had  to  prepare  to  ascend  a  burning  pile.  They  sought  to 
make  him  deny  his  faith,  and  laid  snares  for  his  youth  :  but  he 
preferred  death  and  the  peace  of  God's  chosen  to  a  life  gained 
by  unfaithfulness.  In  spite  of  urgent  appeals  from  Berne  to  ob- 
tain his  release,  he  was  burned  at  Aosta,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1557. 
The  second  martyr  was  fifty  years  old.  His  character  had 
been  matured  by  reflection,  by  observation  of  human  actions, 
and  the  study  of  the  word  of  God  ;  his  name  was  Geofroi  Varaille. 
He  was  a  native  of  Busca,  in  Piedmont,  and  by  birth  a  papist. 
His  father  had  even  been  distinguished  among  the  leaders  of  the 
army  that  laid  waste  the  valleys  in  1488.  The  only  son  of  a 
persecutor,  Geofroi  became  a  monk,  and  was  sent  as  a  popish 
preacher  to  travel  through  Italy,  and  in  this  capacity  became 
the  companion  of  Ochino,  of  Sienna,  the  founder  of  the  order  of 
the  Capuchins.  At  this  period,  while  preaching  to  others,  he 
had  already  detected  many  errors  in  the  Romish  religion.  He 
was  attached  to  the  pope's  legate  in  France,  was  honoured,  and 
enjoyed  several  benefices,  and  resided  for  a  long  time  at  the 
court  of  the  king,  till  the  year  1556,  when,  unable  any  longer  to 
hide  from  himself  the  errors  of  the  Roman  system,  and  unwilling 
to  risk  his  salvation,  he  quitted  the  legate  and  retired  to  Geneva. 
Here  he  continued  to  gain  instruction  in  the  truth,  and  in  the 
proper  method  of  teaching  it,  till  he  received  ordination  by  im- 
position of  hands  for  the  evangelical  ministry,  in  1557.  At  this 
time,  the  evangelical  church  of  San  Giovanni,  in  the  valley  of 
Lucerna,  was  in  want  of  a  pastor.  Varaille  was  sent  there,  and 
preached  for  some  months  with  great  success.  Having  been  in- 
vited to  Busca,  his  native  place,  in  the  environs  of  which  there 
were  a  few  believers,  he  quitted  the  valleys  for  a  few  days,  as 
he  intended,  but  never  saw  them  again,  for  he  was  arrested  on 
his  return,  on  the  information  of  the  monks,  who  were  on  the 
watch  for  him.  While  a  prisoner  on  his  parole  at  Barge,  he 
might  have  escaped  if  he  had  thought  of  nothing  but  his  life. 


160  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

He  even  prevented  the  Vaudois  of  Bibbiana,  who  were  his 
parishioners,  from  coming  to  rescue  him,  telling  them  to  leave 
the  matter  with  God.  At  Turin,  the  archbishop,  the  president 
St.  Julien,  and  other  personages  of  rank  who  had  known  him, 
made  use  of  every  expedient  to  induce  him  to  return  to  the 
Roman  Church.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  lost  their  time- 
Abandoning  all  hope  of  gaining  him  by  promises,  his  judges 
condemned  him  to  degradation  and  the  flames ;  and  this  sentence 
was  carried  into  effect  at  Turin,  March  29, 1558.  His  firm  and 
joyful  countenance,  as  he  went  to  death,  and  the  grave  and 
pious  address  he  made  at  the  place  of  execution,  astonished 
his  adversaries  as  much  as  they  animated  and  edified  the  minds 
of  those  who  were  disposed  to  listen  to  the  truth.  He  was  first 
strangled,  then  burned. 

A  good  old  man,  who  had  already  suffered  much  for  the  gospel, 
was  forced  to  assist  at  the  punishment  of  Geofroi  Varaille ;  after 
which  he  was  scourged  and  marked  with  a  hot  iron. 

About  the  same  time,  another  minister  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna, 
returning  to  Geneva,  was  arrested  at  Susa,  and  brought  to  Turin. 
But  on  the  day  fixed  for  his  martyrdom,  one  of  the  executioners 
feigned  illness ;  the  other,  after  having  inflicted  punishment  on 
some  malefactors,  and  fearing  he  should  be  forced  to  execute  the 
minister,  absconded ;  the  German  executioner  refused  to  do  it, 
so  that  the  execution  was  put  off;  and  a  fortunate  circumstance 
having  occurred,  the  pastor  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  and 
returned  to  his  friends. 

In  the  month  of  March,  155 7,  however,  the  commissioners  St. 
Julien  and  Chiesa  arrived  from  France,  and  came  back  to 
Pinerolo,  with  fresh  directions  to  continue  and  finish,  if  possible, 
the  work  they  had  undertaken  in  the  preceding  year ;  namely, 
the  intimidation  and  the  forced  return*  of  the  Vaudois  churches 
within  the  pale  of  the  Roman  Church.  At  Pinerolo,  they  cited 
into  their  presence  the  notables  of  the  valleys,  communicated  to 
them  the  king's  order  to  submit  to  the  papal  yoke,  and  gave 
them  only  three  days  to  make  their  decision.  Having  gained 
nothing  by  this  step,  they  went  from  place  to  place,  assembling 
everywhere  a  general  council  of  the  heads  of  families,  and  com- 

*  We  have  seen  that  the  word  "  return,"  which  the  Catholics  are  fond  of 
using,  is  quite  inapplicable.  The  Vaudois  must  have  left  that  Church  before 
they  could  be  said  to  return  to  it :  but  this  was  not  the  case. 


NEW  MEASURES  AGAINST  THE  VAUDOIS.  161 

municated  to  them,  with  many  threats,  the  express  will  of  the 
king.  But  everywhere  they  received  the  same  answer ;  a  pro- 
testation of  submission  to  the  sovereign  in  temporal  affairs,  and 
a  declaration  of  firm  and  inviolable  fidelity  to  God,  according  to 
the  teachings  of  his  word,  in  matters  of  religion. 

In  the  hope  of  accomplishing  their  purpose  by  rigorous  mea- 
sures against  the  most  considerable  persons  in  the  valleys,  they 
ordered  the  pastors,  schoolmasters,  and  notables  of  the  communes 
(to  the  number  of  forty-three  for  the  valley  of  Lucerna,)  to  ap- 
pear before  them  at  Turin,  on  the  29th  of  March,  1557,  under 
pain  of  terrible  punishments  if  they  failed.  The  victims  thus 
marked  out,  not  venturing  to  go  near  a  city  which  had  been  fatal 
to  so  many  of  the  faithful  Vaudois,  and  having  sent  only  an  epis- 
tle in  their  stead,  an  order  was  issued  by  the  parliament  to  seize 
the  pastors  and  schoolmasters  of  the  three  valleys,  and  bring  them 
prisoners  to  Turin;  threatening  the  syndics  with  the  loss  of 
their  property  and  lives  if  they  did  not  deliver  them  up. 

The  danger,  certainly,  was  great ;  but  God,  whose  mercies  are 
infinite,  and  his  providence  admirable,  watched  over  his  servants. 
The  king  of  France  had  too  many  affairs  on  hand  to  dream  of 
occupying  the  valleys  with  a  military  force,  and  of  persecuting 
with  an  armed  band.  The  Protestant  cantons  of  Switzerland, 
moreover,  at  the  solicitation  of  Farel  and  Theodore  Beza,  inter- 
fered by  writing  to  the  parliament  of  Turin  and  the  marshal  de 
Brissac,  and  by  an  embassy  to  the  king,  and  thus  obtained  a 
suspension  of  the  decree  against  the  Vaudois.  The  princes  of 
Germany  adopted  similar  measures.  Our  friends  of  the  valleys, 
favoured  by  these  circumstances,  enjoyed  some  respite  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  French  domination  in  Piedmont,  that  is  to 
say,  till  1559  * 

*  Gilles,  p.  70. — We  have  generally  followed  this  author  in  the  narrative  con- 
tained in  this  chapter.  For  the  mediation  on  behalf  of  the  Vaudois,  See  Ruchat, 
t.  vi,  pp.  195,  196. 


162  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  VAUDOIS,    ONCE  MORE  UNDER  THE  RULE  OF  THEIR  LEGITI- 
MATE PRINCE,  ARE  PERSECUTED  WITH  THE  UTMOST  RIGOUR. 

After  having  been  subject  to  France  for  three-and-twenty 
years,  Piedmont  was  restored  to  its  legitimate  sovereign  on  the 
3d  of  April,  1559,  by  the  treaty  of  Chateau  Cambresis,  with 
the  exception  of  Turin,  and  three  strong  cities  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, with  their  territory.  Thus  the  Yaudois  valleys  were  once 
more  under  the  dominion  of  the  house  of  Savoy.  The  reigning 
duke,  Emmanuel  Philibert,  who,  in  1553,  succeeded  his  father 
Charles  III.,  (author  of  the  persecution  of  Bersour,)  was  a  prince 
justly  esteemed,  and  as  much  distinguished  by  his  valour  as  by 
superior  talents  and  the  wisdom  of  his  administration.  He  had 
just  married  Margaret,  sister  of  the  king  of  France.  This  prin- 
cess, instructed  in  the  excellence  of  evangelical  principles  by  her 
illustrious  relations,  Margaret,  queen  of  Navarre,  and  Renee  of 
France,  daughter  of  Louis  XH.,  was  well  disposed  towards  the 
reformed.  The  Vaudois  might,  therefore,  hope  for  tranquil  times 
and  the  enjoyment  of  the  worship  of  their  forefathers. 

But  in  making  the  terms  of  peace,  the  contracting  parties  en- 
tered into  reciprocal  engagements  to  combat  the  Reformation  and 
to  destroy  heresy.  The  reign  of  Emmanuel  Philibert,  con- 
sequently, could  not  be  established,  without  leading  to  religious 
persecution.  Deplorable  and  disgraceful  necessity,  if  it  were  so ! 
It  is  also  certain,  and  the  fact  has  been  established  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  that  the  Vaudois  doctrine  was  no  other  than  that 
of  the  reformation ;  that  it  gradually  spread  through  Piedmont, 
during  the  French  domination,  and  that  in  the  valleys  especially, 
as  at  its  beginning,  the  so-called  heretical  Church  had  very  much 
increased,  and  had  substituted  a  general  and  public  profession 
for  its  ancient  system  of  dissimulation.  We  may  believe  that 
the  judgment  of  the  prince  was  in  favour  of  a  peaceable  and  mo- 
derate administration,  and  that  the  wish  of  his  heart,  enlightened 
by  the  gentle  representations  of  his  consort,  would  have  led  him 
to  spare  his  inoffensive  subjects.  But  being  personally  ignorant 
of  that  piety  which  is  according  to  the  truth,  and  brought  up  in 
the  errors  of  Rome,  how  could  he  resist  the  solicitations  of  the 


PERSECUTING  EDICT  OF  PHIL1BERT.  163 

inquisition,  the  prelates,  and  the  pope's  nuncio,  with  the  lords 
of  the  court,  and  the  ambassadors  of  France,  Spain,  and  various 
Italian  princes  in  coalition  against  the  Vaudois  ? 

Urged  on  by  so  many  enemies  of  the  gospel,  Emmanuel  Phili- 
bert,  after  reigning  a  year,  published  on  the  15th  of  February, 
1560,  at  Nice,  where  he  resided,  (Turin  being  still  in  the  hands 
of  the  French,)  a  persecuting  edict  against  the  Vaudois  and  the 
reformed  in  his  domains.  It  prohibited  every  one  of  his  high- 
ness' subjects  from  going  to  hear  the  non-catholic  preachers  in 
the  valley  of  Lucerna,  or  any  other  place,  under  pain  of  a  fine 
of  a  hundred  dollars  of  gold  for  the  first  offence,  and  of  being  sent 
to  the  galleys  for  life,  for  the  second,  Half  of  the  fine  was  pro- 
mised to  the  informer.  New  ordinances  followed  very  soon  after, 
increasing  in  severity ;  and,  among  others,  one  enjoining  atten- 
dance at  mass,  under  pain  of  being  condemned  to  the  flames. 
The  execution  of  these  edicts  was  confided  to  a  prince  of  the 
blood,  Philip  of  Savoy,  count  de  Kaconis,  a  cousin  of  the  duke, 
and  to  George  Coste,  count  de  la  Trinite.  To  carry  on  the  le- 
gal proceedings,  there  vrere  joined  with  them  Thomas  Jacomel, 
inquisitor-general,  a  cruel,  licentious  man,  and  councillor  Corbis, 
in  whom  violence  had  not  extinguished  sensibility,  as  he  proved 
by  resigning  his  commission  after  having  been  present  at  some 
scenes  of  barbarity,  and  the  provost-general  of  justice.*  They 
began  the  enforcing  of  the  ordinance  of  persecution  at  Carignan ; 
and  first  of  all  on  a  stranger,  in  order  to  strike  terror  into  the 
numerous  members  of  the  reformed  Church  in  that  opulent  city. 
His  name  was  Mathurin.f  After  having  confessed  his  belief,  he 
was  sentenced  to  be  burned,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  edict, 
if  in  three  days  he  did  not  retract  and  consent  to  go  to  mass. 
His  faithful  wife,  Jane,  obtained  leave  to  see  him,  wishing,  she 
said,  to  speak  to  him  for  his  good.  She  had  scarcely  entered  his 
cell,  when,  like  the  courageous  mother  in  the  book  of  Maccabees, 
she  exhorted  her  husband,  in  the  presence  of  the  commissioners, 
to  persevere  in  the  profession  of  his  faith  for  the  salvation  of  his 
soul ;  not  to  trouble  himself  about  anything  relating  to  this  world, 
not  even  his  punishment,  which  would  not  last  long,  nor  his  leav- 

*Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  34.— Gilles,  ch.  xi,  pp.  72,  73.  See  the  same  author  for  all 
that  follows. 

t  He  is  called  Marcellin  in  a  letter  written  to  a  lord  of  Geneva  by  Scipio  Len- 
tulus,  a  pastor  of  the  valleys  at  that  period.— (Lcger,  pt.  ii,  p.  34.) 


164  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ing  her  a  widow  and  desolate ;  for  she  was  resolved  to  go  with 
him  to  death,  if  such  were  the  will  of  God.  The  threats  of  the 
commissioners  could  not  shake  either  her  or  her  husband.  She 
even  obtained  leave,  by  her  entreaties,  to  suffer  punishment  on 
the  same  day,  and  on  the  same  pile,  with  her  husband. 

The  faithful  in  Carignan,  and  in  a  multitude  of  other  places, 
persecuted  to  the  extreme,  fled  to  Turin,  then  belonging  to 
France,  or  elsewhere.  Their  property  was  confiscated ;  but  they 
saved  their  lives,  for  a  time  at  least.  It  is  melancholy  to  add, 
but  truth  requires  it,  that  many  abjured  their  religion  through 
fear  of  death,  and  to  preserve  their  fortunes  for  their  children. 

The  executioners  of  the  vengeance  of  Rome  pillaged  the  dis- 
tricts of  Meane  and  Mattis,  in  the  vicinity  of  Susa,  which  were 
peopled  with  Vaudois.  They  condemned  the  inhabitants  to  the 
galleys,  or  to  other  punishments,  and  burned  the  worthy  minister 
to  death  slowly  at  a  small  fire.  The  valley  of  Barcelonette,  and 
other  places  that  had  lately  submitted  to  the  duke,  experienced 
similar  treatment. 

Gradually,  the  persecution  which  was  raging  all  round  the 
valleys  approached  the  ancient  fortress  of  evangelical  truth. 
Accounts  from  all  quarters  of  the  devastations,  confiscations, 
arrests,  ignominious  sentences,  punishments,  and  abjurations, 
reached  this  region,  which  was  destined  to  the  same  evils.  In 
so  critical  a  juncture,  the  pastors  and  principal  persons  of  the 
valleys  met  together,  to  advise  on  means  for  warding  off  the 
danger,  if  possible.  They  implored  with  ardent  and  humble 
prayers  the  direction  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  effects  of  his 
all-powerful  grace.  It  was  then  decided  to  write  to  the  duke, 
the  duchess,  and  the  council,  to  lay  before  them  the  state  of 
affairs,  and  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and  to  implore  the  cle- 
mency of  a  sovereign  whom  they  had  never  intentionally  of- 
fended. 

In  the  letter  to  their  prince,  they  claim  from  his  justice  the 
right  granted  to  every  accused  person,  even  the  most  criminal— 
that  of  being  heard  before  they  were  condemned.  They  then 
solemnly  protest  their  attachment  to  the  true  faith,  and  to  the 
pure  and  spotless  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  de- 
clare that  the  doctrine  they  followed  was  that  of  the  prophets, 
the  apostles,  of  the  council  of  Nice,  and  Athanasius ;  that  they 
voluntarily  received  the  decisions  of  the  four  principal  councils 


MEASURES  TAKEN  BY  THE  VAUDOIS.     165 

and  the  writings  of  the  ancient  fathers  of  the  Church,  in  every 
point  in  which  they  did  not  depart  from  the  analogy  of  faith. 
They  aver  that  they  rendered  most  heartily  the  obedience  due 
to  their  superiors,  and  that  they  sought  peace  with  their  neigh- 
bours. That,  as  regarded  their  opinions,  they  by  no  means  re- 
fused instruction ;  that,  so  far  from  opposing  a  free  council,  in 
which  every  question  should  be  debated  and  determined  by  the 
word  of  God,  they  desired  it  with  all  their  heart,  and  prayed 
God  to  dispose  the  prince  to  grant  one.  They  then  implore 
their  sovereign  to  consider  that  the  religion  they  followed  was 
not  a  new  one,  as  some  persons  would  have  him  believe,  but  that 
it  was  the  religion  of  their  fathers,  grandsires,  and  still  more  re- 
mote ancestors,  and  of  their  predecessors  the  holy  martyrs,  con- 
fessors, prophets,  and  apostles.  They  then  make  mention  of 
these  confessions  of  faith,  saying  that  they  had  proposed  it  to 
the  examination  of  the  doctors  of  every  university  in  the  Chris- 
tian world,  with  a  promise  of  renouncing  every  error  that  might 
be  found  in  it,  if  it  could  be  proved  by  the  word  of  God ;  but 
that  not  one  had  been  pointed  out  to  them.  Consequently,  they 
requested  to  be  tolerated.  "  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus," 
they  write,  "  we  request  that  if  in  us  or  in  our  religion  any  error 
or  fault  be  found,  it  should  be  shown  to  us ;  but  if  we  have  the 
truth,  pure  and  irreproachable,  it  should  be  left  to  us  pure  and 
entire.  One  thing  is  certain,  most  serene  prince,  that  the  word 
of  God  will  not  perish,  but  will  abkle  forever.  If,  then,  our 
religion  is  the  pure  word  of  God,  as  we  are  persuaded  it  is,  and 
not  a  human  invention,  no  human  power  will  be  able  to  abolish 
it.  This  is  what  Gamaliel  urged  in  defence  of  the  apostles,  and 
every  one  must  acknowledge  its  truth.  '  Refrain  from  these 
men,'  said  he :  'and  let  them  alone:  for  if  this  counsel  or  this 
work  be  of  men,  it  will  come  to  naught :  but  if  it  be  of  God,  ye 
cannot  overthrow  it ;  lest  haply  ye  be  found  even  to  fight  against 
God,'  Acts  v,  38,  39." 

The  courageous  Vaudois  then  remind  their  prince  that  it  had 
been  in  vain  attempted  in  former  times  to  destroy  the  religion 
of  their  ancestors  by  persecution,  and  they  conjure  him  not  to 
join  with  those  who  had  stained  their  hands  with  innocent  blood. 
They  promise  to  render  him  entire  fidelity  and  perfect  submis- 
sion in  everything  which  would  not  affect  their  faith,  wishing  to 
**  render  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  things  that  are  God's."  "  And  we  pray  with  all  our  heart," 
they  add,  "  that  our  all-good  and  all-powerful  God  may  please 
to  preserve  your  highness  in  all  prosperity."  The  letter  was 
signed  in  the  name  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  valleys  of  Lucerna, 
Angrogna,  Perosa,  San  Martino,  and  innumerable  other  in- 
habitants of  the  country  of  Piedmont. 

The  letter  addressed  to  the  duchess  was  in  a  different  style : 
it  contained  no  apology.  The  writers  expressed  much  confi- 
dence in  her.  They  spoke  to  her  as  a  protectress  and  a  friend. 
They  detailed  the  sufferings  which  the  disciples  of  the  word  of 
God  had  already  endured  at  Carignan  and  other  places,  and  the 
terrible  threats  with  which  all  those  were  visited  who  would  not 
consent  to  attend  at  mass ;  and,  in  imploring  her  benevolent  and 
powerful  mediation  with  the  prince,  her  consort,  they  reminded 
her  of  the  examples  of  Esther  and  other  pious  women,  and  of 
other  believers  who  had  saved  the  persecuted  children  of  God. 

The  letter  addressed  to  the  council  reiterated  the  consider- 
ations and  petitions  contained  in  the  letter  to  the  duke,  enforced 
by  fresh  arguments.  It  dwelt  on  the  obligation  of  Christians  to 
prevent  the  effusion  of  innocent  blood,  and  of  the  account  they 
must  render  of  their  administration  to  God.  It  urged  them  to 
remember  what  God  had  said  and  done  on  account  of  the  blood 
of  one  righteous  man,  Abel,  and  to  consider  what  he  would  do 
for  the  blood  of  so  great  a  number  of  the  faithful  whom  they 
were  persecuting  to  deat]^  Finally,  it  claimed  for  themselves, 
Christians  secluded  in  their  mountains,  the  same  tolerance  that 
was  granted  to  Jews  and  Saracens  in  the  most  considerable  cities 
of  Piedmont. 

The  Vaudois  added  to  this  letter  an  apology  or  defence  of 
their  religion,  as  well  as  of  their  present  and  past  conduct. 
They  victoriously  refuted  some  unjust  accusations  and  calum- 
nies.    They  also  sent  their  confession  of  faith. 

It  was  no  small  difficulty  for  men  who  were  regarded  as 
worthy  only  of  contempt  and  reprobation,  and  given  up  before- 
hand to  the  executioners  of  justice,  to  get  their  justification  and 
requests  safely  into  the  hands  of  their  prince  and  princess,  who 
had  been  imposed  upon  by  misrepresentations.  One  of  their 
two  friends,  who  had  visited  Nice  for  this  purpose,  de  Castillon, 
allowed  himself  to  be  dismayed  by  the  apprehension  of  affronts 
and  insults.     But  the  other,  Gilles  of  Bricherasco,  being  kindly 


MEASURES  TAKEN  BY  THE  VAUDOIS.      167 

received  by  the  Count  de  Raconis,  did  not  leave  his  residence 
till  he  had  placed  all  the  documents  in  the  hands  of  the  duchess, 
with  the  assurance  that  she  would  lay  them  before  the  duke. 
The  Vaudois  also  requested  the  intercession  and  good  offices  of 
one  of  these  lords,  the  Count  Charles  of  Lucerna,  lord  of  An- 
grogna. 

But  while  the  deputies  of  the  Vaudois  repaired  to  Nice,  and 
during  the  three  months  which  elapsed  before  Gilles  had  de- 
livered the  letters  to  Margaret  of  France,  the  state  of  things, 
which  was  already  so  threatening,  became  worse,  and  the  hatred 
felt  against  the  friends  of  the  Bible  manifested  itself  by  its  acts 
of  violence.  Some  of  the  lords  of  the  country  were  the  first  to 
become  agents  of  persecution,  and  rivalled  the  inquisitor  and  his 
tools  in  barbarity.  While  the  Dominican,  Jacomel,  and  the 
councillor  Corbis,  who  were  established  at  Pinerolo,  signified  by 
letters  to  the  Vaudois  that  it  was  their  duty  to  submit  to  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  to  go  to  mass,  and  the  Count  de  Baconis 
entered  into  a  conference  at  San  Giovanni,  in  April,  1560,  with 
the  syndics  and  ministers,  without  any  other  result  than  an  ex- 
change of  words,  several  lords  ill-treated  their  vassals  and  neigh- 
bours on  account  of  their  religion.  In  the  valley  of  Lucerna, 
great  complaints  were  made  of  Count  Guillaume,  who,  with  some 
friends,  and  at  the  head  of  his  servants,  arrested  and  denounced 
the  Vaudois  who  attended  their  own  places  of  worship ;  particu- 
larly those  of  Bibbiana,  Campiglione,  and  Fenile.  He  turned 
this  proceeding  into  a  trading  speculation,  receiving  for  his 
trouble  half  the  fine  of  a  hundred  gold  dollars,  imposed  by  the 
edict  on  every  delinquent  when  convicted  for  the  first  time. 

In  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  two  brothers,  Charles  and 
Boniface  Truchet,  (or  Truquet,)  incessantly  harassed  the  Vau- 
dois in  their  seigniory  of  Bioclaret.  They  were  impelled  by 
hatred  of  evangelical  religion.  Even  during  the  French  do- 
mination, they  did  all  in  their  power  to  hinder  the  public  per- 
formance of  religious  services.  These  were  the  persons  who 
arrested,  and  delivered  up  to  the  inquisition,  the  bookseller 
Hector,  who  was  burned  at  Turin.  They  had  latterly  made 
two  attempts  to  seize  the  pastor.  The  first  time,  they  left  him 
for  dead  in  the  arms  of  his  faithful  parishioners,  who  fought  for 
him ;  and  the  second  time,  they  would  have  arrested  him  in  the 
temple  itself,  having  already  laid  hands  on  him,  but  for  the  de- 


168  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

termined  resistance  of  the  congregation.  The  edict  of  persecu- 
tion had  been  solicited  by  them.  They  had  even  obtained  per- 
mission to  raise  a  hundred  men,  and  to  employ  them  in  forcing 
the  heretics  to  submission. 

Accordingly,  in  the  month  of  April,  1560,  they  made  a  sudden 
assault  on  the  hamlets  in  the  commune  of  Bioclaret,  which  were 
scattered  over  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  ravaging  and  slaughter- 
ing. The  day  had  scarcely  dawned ;  the  terrified  inhabitants 
rushed  out  of  their  dwellings,  the  greater  part  without  clothes, 
uttering  cries  of  alarm  to  warn  their  brethren,  and  sought  a  re- 
fuge on  the  heights  that  were  still  covered  with  snow.  The 
minister  escaped,  but  not  without  great  difficulty ;  and  while  the 
population,  driven  away  by  the  discharge  of  musketry,  were 
destroyed  by  cold  and  hunger  in  the  retreats  of  the  woods  and 
rocks,  their  impious  assailants  loaded  themselves  with  their  pro- 
perty in  the  forsaken  cottages.  A  minister  of  the  valley,  soon 
after  his  return  from  Calabria,  hearing  of  the  invasion,  wished 
to  go  and  console  his  brethren  in  distress,  but  was  discovered, 
seized,  and  conducted  to  the  abbey  of  Pinerolo,  where  Jacomel 
and  Corbis  condemned  him  to  the  flames  with  another  man  be- 
longing to  the  valley  of  San  Martino.  The  fugitives,  however, 
beheld  the  dawn  of  deliverance  on  the  fourth  day ;  four  hundred 
of  their  brethren  in  the  vale  of  Clusone,  subjects  of  France,  being 
moved  with  compassion  at  the  news  of  their  misfortune,  crossed 
the  mountains,  and  threw  themselves  on  the  hostile  troop  and 
dispersed  it.  The  two  Truchets  were  exasperated,  and  repaired 
to  Nice,  complained  to  the  duke,  and  requested  succour. 
Everything  was  promised  them.  They  were  also  permitted  to 
rebuild  the  castle  of  Perrier,  which  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
French  twenty  years  before,  and  to  place  a  garrison  in  it.  The 
personal  circumstances*  of  these  lords  alone  stopped  the  explo- 
sion of  their  wrath  for  a  time. —  Gilles,  ch.  xiii,  p.  88,  etc. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  month  of  June,  Philip  of  Savoy,  count 
de  Raconis,  and  chief  commissioner,  came  a  second  time  into  the 
valley  of  Lucerna,  accompanied  by  his  colleague,  the  count  de 
la  Trinite.  Having  assembled  the  ministers  and  the  syndics, 
they  informed  them  that  their  letters  had  been  sent  to  Rome  by 
the  duke,  who  waited  for  the  pope's  reply.  Then  addressing 
the  leading  men  of  the  communes,  they  insinuated  that  persecu- 

*  They  were  taken  by  the  Turks  at  sea  near  Nice,  but  afterwards  ransomed. 


MEASURES  TAKEN  BY  THE  VAUDOIS.       169 

tion  would  cease  immediately,  and  the  prisoners  be  set  at  liberty, 
if  the  churches  would  consent  to  hear  the  preachers  whom  the 
duke  should  send  to  them,  and  if  they  withdrew  the  right  of 
preaching  from  their  pastors,  while  they  made  trial  of  the  former. 
The  syndics  replied,  on  the  spot,  to  the  first  point :  if  the  pro- 
posed preachers  announced  the  pure  word  of  God,  they  would 
hear  them ;  but  if  otherwise,  they  would  not.  As  to  the  second 
point,  they  requested  that  they  might  have  till  the  next  day  to 
consider  it.  Their  answer  was,  that  they  could  not  silence  their 
pastors,  as  long  as  they  were  ignorant  whether  the  new  preachers 
were  the  true  servants  of  God,  and  ministers  of  the  pure  gospel 
of  truth  :  a  prudent  and  wise  answer,  and  worthy  of  pious  ma- 
gistrates. They  likewise  refused  to  send  back  those  of  their  pas- 
tors who  were  foreigners.  As  the  commissioners  of  the  duke  re- 
quired an  answer  in  writing  to  their  demands,  the  council  of  the 
communes  assembled  on  the  30th  of  June,  and  gave  one  drawn 
up  in  decided  terms,  and  yet  with  all  the  respect  and  courtesy 
due  to  the  dignity  of  the  prince  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  The 
dissatisfaction  of  the  commissioners  was  excessive.  In  their  wrath, 
they  republished  the  edicts,  and  the  persecution  broke  out  more 
violently  than  ever. 

Among  the  greatest  enemies  whose  fury  the  Vaudois  had  to 
dread,  the  monks  of  the  abbey  of  Pinerolo  must  not  be  forgotten. 
Not  content  with  living  in  opulence,  it  was  at  all  times  a  special 
gratification  to  them  to  hunt  the  Vaudois.  The  present  moment 
seemed  to  them  particularly  well  suited  for  doing  it  on  a  large 
scale.  For  this  purpose,  they  took  into  their  pay  a  numerous 
band  of  wretches,  who  frequently  made  incursions  on  the  evan- 
gelicals of  the  valley  of  Perosa,  and  of  Saint-Germain  in  parti- 
cular, a  village  only  about  a  league  and  a  half  distant  from  Pine- 
rolo. In  one  of  their  expeditions  they  succeeded  but  too  well. 
Having  gained  over  a  man  who  was  well  known  to  the  pastor  of 
this  latter  place,  they  sent  this  traitor  very  early,  before  day, 
to  the  parsonage,  requesting  the  attendance  of  the  faithful  pas- 
tor in  an  urgent  case,  who  suspected  no  danger  till  it  was  too 
late  ;  that  is,  when  he  saw  himself  surrounded  by  the  cut-throats 
of  the  abbey.  He  attempted  to  save  himself  by  flight,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  aroused  the  villagers  by  his  outcries.  Alas !  it 
was  too  late.  He  was  wounded,  and  carried  oil'.  Many  of  his 
faithful  parishioners  were  also  taken  with  him.  and  several  women. 

8 


170  HISTORY  OE  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Some  were  massacred  in  attempting  to  rescue  him  from  the  sol- 
diers. The  pastor,  a  few  days  after,  was  tied  to  the  stake.  By 
a  refinement  of  cruelty,  and  for  the  amusement  of  the  spectators, 
the  poor  female  prisoners  were  forced  to  carry  the  fagots  to  the 
fire  which  was  to  consume  their  spiritual  guide.  The  Romish 
priests  needed  no  instruction  in  the  methods  of  inflicting  suffering. 

The  mercenaries  of  the  abbey  of  Pinerolo,  (de  l'Abbadie,) 
about  three  hundred  strong,  made  fresh  expeditions  against  Saint- 
Germain,  and  laid  it  waste.  They  also  attacked  Villaro  of  the 
Perosa,  not  far  from  it,  and  the  neighbouring  villages,  Prarustin 
and  San  Bartolomeo.  They  extended  their  incursions  as  far  as 
Fenile,  Campiglione,  and  other  places  in  the  plains,  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  valley  of  Luccrna.  Plunder  was  their  favourite  occu- 
pation. The  prisoners  were  for  the  most  part  sent  to  the  galleys. 
Their  approach  was  the  signal  for  a  general  flight.  The  perse- 
cuted peasantry  hardly  ventured  to  reap  the  crops.  Famine  and 
sore  distress  were  spread  over  all  parts  of  the  Yaudois  mountains 
in  the  direction  of  Pinerolo. 

These  assassins,  hired  by  the  monks,  in  due  time,  however, 
met  with  their  match.  The  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna, 
moved  with  compassion  for  the  calamities  of  their  brethren,  first 
formed  a  plan  for  protecting  them,  by  means  of  a  strong  detach- 
ment of  armed  men,  who  should  keep  guard  while  the  persecuted 
people  got  in  their  harvest,  and  put  their  affairs  in  order.  Com- 
plete success  crowned  their  efforts ;  but,  after  their  departure, 
the  depredations  began  afresh,  till  one  day  the  people  of  An- 
grogna,  who  were  reaping  their  fields  on  the  heights  that  over- 
look Saint -Germain,  heard  a  discharge  of  musketry,  and  per- 
ceived a  numerous  body  of  armed  men  making  their  way  to  the 
village  that  lay  at  their  feet.  As  soon  as  the  cry  of  alarm  was 
raised  by  their  brethren,  the  Angrognines,  well  armed,  rushed 
into  the  plain,  like  an  overwhelming  avalanche.  Having  divided 
themselves  into  two  bands,  while  one  put  the  papists  to  flight, 
the  other  took  possession  of  the  bridge  over  the  Clusone,  to  cut 
off  their  retreat.  The  enemy,  thus  surrounded  and  beaten,  had 
nothing  left  but  to  abandon  their  dead  and  wounded,  and  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  stream.  Fortunately  for  them,  the 
waters  were  low,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  summer ;  yet  many 
perished,  being  struck  by  the  shots  that  were  fired  from  the  banks. 
The  Angrognines.  on  reckoning  their  number,  found  that  they 


MONKS  OF  ABBADIE  AND  THEIR  VICTIMS.  171 

were  about  four  hundred  strong,  and  were  on  the  point  of  march- 
ing to  the  abbey  of  Pinerolo,  to  deliver  their  captive  brethren, 
which  could  have  been  easily  done,  as  was  afterwards  known, 
since  the  monks  and  their  people,  being  panic-stricken,  had  quit- 
ted the  convent  and  taken  refuge  in  the  city.  But  the  want  of 
an  experienced  leader,  and  prudential  considerations,  restrained 
them  from  venturing  into  the  stronghold  of  their  infuriated  ene- 
mies, who  had  already  sounded  the  tocsin  in  their  villages,  and 
would  soon  do  the  same  in  Pinerolo. 

The  Vaudois  of  the  valley  of  Perosa,  on  the  left  side,  who 
were  subject  to  France,  also  had  their  troubles  at  this  period. 
They  were  obliged  sometimes,  like  their  neighbours,  to  have  re- 
course to  arms  to  defend  themselves. — Gilles,  pp.  94,  95. 

Nevertheless,  the  duke  and  his  council  were  seriously  occupied 
with  the  requests  and  representations  which  the  poor  Vaudois  had 
addressed  to  them  in  the  spring.  The  duke,  imagining  that  his 
religion  was  the  best,  and  that  its  excellence  could  be  demon- 
strated by  sufficient  reasons,  and  unquestionably  also  by  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  to  which  the  Vaudois  always  appealed  when  they 
spoke  of  defending  theirs,  was  inclined  to  agree  to  holding  con- 
ferences in  which  well-informed  Catholics  might  demonstrate  the 
truth  of  the  Roman  religion,  and  the  error  of  the  Vaudois  worship. 
This  proposal  had  been  communicated  to  the  pope,  but  did  not 
meet  with  his  approbation.  The  pontiff  replied  that  he  would 
never  consent  to  make  the  points  of  his  religion  matters  of  debate ; 
that  the  constitutions  of  the  Roman  Church  must  be  admitted 
absolutely,  without  dispute  or  exceptions ;  and  that  nothing  re- 
mained but  to  proceed  with  the  utmost  rigour  against  the  recu- 
sants ;  that  he  would  consent  to  send  a  legate  with  theologians 
to  instruct  the  penitent,  and  to  absolve  those  who  abjured  heresy, 
but  that  he  was  not  sanguine  of  great  results  from  this  method ; 
that  it  would  be  most  expedient  to  proceed  against  them  in  the 
way  of  punishment,  and  even  by  force  of  arms.  He  offered  the 
duke  his  assistance,  if  required. 

The  pope's  advice  was  adopted  by  the  council.  They  only 
modified  it  on  one  point.  It  was  thought  proper  that  the  ecclesi- 
astical commissioner  should  attempt  to  convince  the  Vaudois  of 
their  errors,  and  to  instruct  them,  before  proceeding  to  the  last 
extremities.  For  this  mission,  a  man  of  note  among  his  equals 
was  chosen,  (hough  his  merit  was  not  equal  to  his  reputation, 


172  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

namely,  Antoiue  Poussevin,  commander  of  SaintrAntoine  de 
Fossan.  He  came  to  the  valleys,  furnished  with  very  extensive 
powers,  and  anticipating  an  easy  triumph.  He  preached  with 
much  parade  at  Cavor,  Bibbiana,  and  Lucerna,  making  great 
pretensions,  and  pouring  forth  a  stream  of  threatenings  and  in- 
vectives against  the  evangelicals.  At  San  Giovanni,  where  he 
had  called  together  the  syndics  and  ministers  of  the  valley  of 
Lucerna,  he  thought  to  convince  those  present  by  the  word  of 
God,  by  proving  to  them  that  it  made  mention  of  the  Mass,  in 
using  the  word  massah,  which  signifies  to  consecrate.  He  main- 
tained that  since  the  Holy  Scriptures  contain  the  word  massah, 
in  the  sense  of  consecrating,  the  Mass  is  taught  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. The  ministers  whom  he  flattered  himself  he  had  crushed 
and  reduced  to  silence  by  this  argument,  had  no  difficulty  in 
proving  to  him  that  the  quotation  was  not  correct — that  there  is 
no  mention  of  the  Mass  in  the  sacred  text — that  the  word  massah 
never  has  this  sense — and  especially  that  the  Bible  nowhere 
teaches  the  doctrines  represented  or  set  forth  in  the  Mass,  such 
as  the  repetition  of  our  Lord's  sacrifice,  the  adoration  of  the  host, 
and  many  other  errors. 

Poussevin,  who  had  not  expected  to  find  in  these  despised 
ministers  theological  and  biblical  knowledge  of  which  he  himself 
was  destitute,  abruptly  closed  a  discussion  which  he  could  not 
maintain  with  honour,  and,  hurried  away  by  passion,  indulged 
in  reproaches  and  threats.  The  nobles  and  officers  of  justice 
who  accompanied  him  were  ashamed  of  his  ignorance  ;  they 
were  also  deeply  humbled  by  the  marked  inferiority  in  which 
this  discussion  placed  their  religion  as  well  as  their  priests. 

These  occurrences  took  place  in  the  course  of  the  months  of 
July  and  August. 

A  little  later,  probably  in  the  beginning  of  September,  the 
Vaudois,  understanding  what  sad  results  would  be  likely  to  fol- 
low from  the  report  Poussevin  would  give  of  his  ill  success  to  the 
court,  availed  themselves  of  the  duke's  return  to  the  north  of 
Piedmont,  to  write  to  him  again,  and  appeal  to  his  justice  and 
compassion.  They  also  addressed  Renee  of  France,  widow  of 
the  duke  of  Ferrara,  an  enlightened  princess,  and  friendly  to  the 
reformation,  imploring  her  to  intercede  in  their  favour  in  her 
journey  to  the  court  of  Piedmont;  but  the  irritation  was  too 
great  at  head-quarters.     It  was  there  thought  that  too  much 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  SAFETY.         173 

consideration  had  been  shown  towards  obstinate  religionists ;  and 
that  it  would  be  right  to  compel  them  to  abjure. 

From  the  month  of  October  a  report  spread  through  the  val- 
leys that  the  duke  was  levying  and  assembling  troops  to  exter- 
minate the  inhabitants.  The  Piedmontese  who  were  connected 
with  the  Vaudois,  urged  their  relations  or  friends  to  abjure,  or  to 
make  their  escape  while  there  was  yet  time.  The  Count  Charles 
of  Lucerna  also  sought,  by  a  clever  manoeuvre,  to  lead  his  vas- 
sals of  Angrogna  into  a  criminal  defection,  to  the  dismissal  of 
their  pastors,  the  admission  of  new  preachers,  and  the  celebrating 
of  the  Mass  in  their  commune.  A  convention  had  even  been 
signed,  when  the  people  acknowledged  their  fault  and  disavowed 
all  that  had  been  done. 

It  only  remained  to  prepare  for  the  storm  that  was  gathering 
and  muttering  as  it  approached,  and  was  soon  to  burst  on  the 
valleys.  The  pastors  and  principal  persons  assembled  repeat- 
edly, and  deliberated  as  to  what  measures  it  would  be  desirable 
to  take,  in  order  to  avoid  the  total  ruin  with  which  they  were 
threatened ;  and,  first  of  all,  being  convinced  that  God  alone 
could  deliver  them,  and  that  their  only  refuge  was  in  his  mercy 
and  grace,  they  decided  not  to  countenance  any  measure  that 
would  be  prejudicial  to  his  honour,  or  opposed  to  his  word. 
They  agreed  to  exhort  every  one  to  apply  to  God  seriously,  with 
true  faith  and  sincere  repentance,  as  well  as  by  humble  and 
ardent  prayer.  Relative  to  precautionary  measures,  they  de- 
cided that  every  family  should  collect  their  provisions,  clothes, 
and  utensils,  and  carry  them  away,  together  with  all  infirm  per- 
sons, to  the  most  elevated  dwellings  at  the  foot  of  the  heights  and 
crags.  At  length,  about  the  end  of  October,  at  the  approach  of 
the  papist  army,  they  held  a  public  fast,  and  on  the  following 
Sunday  partook  of  the  Lord's  supper.  At  this  solemn  juncture, 
the  people  were  evidently  strengthened  from  on  high.  They 
were  resigned  to  the  trials  with  which  it  pleased  God  to  visit 
them  for  the  holy  cause  of  his  gospel.  In  the  cottages  and  on 
the  mountain-tracks,  as  they  were  removing  from  their  homes, 
these  martyrs  of  the  truth  might  be  heard  encouraging  one  an- 
other with  edifying  discourses  and  sacred  songs. 

As  to  making  a  defence,  there  was  a  diversity  of  opinion. 
Some  urged  that  they  should  not  use  arms  till  the  last  extremity, 
when  they  were  pursued  to  their  hiding-places  on  the  mountains. 


174  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Others  were  in  favour  of  an  immediate  resistance,  alleging  that 
it  was  the  pope,  with  his  satellites,  rather  than  their  prince,  who 
made  war  upon  them,  since,  at  it  was  affirmed,  he  engaged  to 
pay  a  great  part  of  the  expense  of  the  expedition  ;*  and  as  to 
bloodshed,  if  there  were  any,  the  guilt  would  lie,  not  on  those 
who  defended  their  lives,  their  families,  and  their  religion,  but 
on  those  who  attacked  them  unjustly.  Not  to  be  willing  to  de- 
fend themselves  till  they  were  reduced  to  their  last  asylum  in 
the  mountains,  when  the  enemy  would  have  pillaged  and  de- 
stroyed everything  in  the  hamlets  below,  would  be  to  destroy 
themselves  without  remedy,  since  no  means  of  subsistence  would 
tiben  be  left.  They  earnestly  besought,  therefore,  that  they 
should  defend  themselves  as  soon  as  the  enemy  entered  the  val- 
leys, while  trusting  in  God,  the  protector  of  the  oppressed. 
This  opinion  prevailed,  and  they  prepared  for  the  combat. 

On  the  first  of  November,  the  Piedmontese  army,  of  at  least 
four  thousand  infantry,  and  two  hundred  horse,f  composed  in 
part  of  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  grown  old  in  the  wars  of 
their  sovereign  with  France,  and  commanded  by  the  Count  de 
la  Trinite,  arrived  at  Bibbiana  on  the  Yaudois  territory,  and 
the  next  day  commenced  operations  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna, 
by  an  attack  on  the  heights  of  Angrogna,  nearest  to  San  Gio- 
vanni. To  oppose  these  experienced  and  disciplined  troops,  the 
Vaudois  had  only  a  small  number  of  men,  badly  armed,  without 
order  or  military  science,  having  on  their  side,  besides  the  assist- 
ance of  Heaven,  nothing  but  their  native  courage,  their  know- 
ledge of  the  locality,  and  the  habits  of  mountaineers ;  for  although 
the  total  population  of  the  Vaudois  valleys  at  that  time  amounted 
to  eighteen  thousand  souls,J  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  their 
armed  men  did  not  exceed  twelve  hundred,  who  were,  more- 
over, scattered  at  great  distances  from  one  another  in  their  three 
valleys.  To  the  attack  on  the  heights  of  Angrogna,  by  a  body 
of  twelve  hundred  Piedmontese,  they  could  only  oppose  two 
hundred  men,  got  together  very  hastily.     These,  nevertheless, 

*  "  Fifty  thousand  dollars  per  month,  and  the  relinquishment  for  one  year  of 
the  revenue  of  all  the  ecclesiastical  property  in  the  domains  of  his  highness." — 
Gilles,  ch.  xviii,  p.  115. 

t  These  are  the  numbers  given  by  the  pastor  of  San  Giovanni,  Scipio  Len- 
tulus,  in  his  letter  to  a  lord  of  Geneva.— Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  35. 

t  See  the  above-mentioned  letter  of  Lentulus. 


COUNT   1>E   LA   TRINITE.  175 

did  their  duty  so  well  that  the  enemy  sounded  a  retreat,  leaving 
more  than  sixty  dead  on  the  field,  while  the  Vaudois  lost  only 
three  !*  The  same  day,  the  army  occupied  La  Torre,  a  small 
town  on  the  plain,  in  the  heart  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  and 
peopled  for  the  most  part  by  Roman  Catholics.  La  Trinite  put 
the  castle  in  repair,  which  was  situated  to  the  north,  on  a  hill  at 
the  entrance  of  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  and  which  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  French  during  their  occupation  of  the  country. 
He  placed  a  strong  garrison  in  it,  which  became  notorious  for  its 
cruelties.  He  also  occupied  the  castle  of  Villaro,  in  the  same 
valley ;  that  of  Perosa,  in  the  valley  of  the  same  name ;  and  that 
of  Perrier,  in  the  valley  of  San  Martino.  The  main  body  of  the 
army  was  at  La  Torre,  whence  it  would  advance  to  the  north 
on  Angrogna,  to  the  west  on  Villaro  and  Bobbio,  and  to  the 
south  on  Bora.  To  the  east,  San  Giovanni,  Bibbiana,  etc.,  were 
already  occupied. 

On  Monday,  the  4th  of  November,  La  Trinite  made  another 
attempt,  by  an  expedition  to  La  Combe,  a  populous  hamlet  on 
the  height  which  commands  Villaro,  whither  the  inhabitants  of 
this  commune  had  withdrawn  their  families  and  effects ;  but  his 
troops  were  obliged  to  retreat  with  loss,  as  well  as  at  Taillaret, 
a  mountain  hamlet  on  the  northwest  of  La  Torre.  In  these 
combats,  the  Vaudois  gave  proof  of  their  military  capacity,  and 
of  their  courage  and  fixed  resolution  to  die  rather  than  surrender 
their  families  to  the  enemy.  The  general  perceived  that  he 
could  make  little  progress,  unless  he  made  use  of  artifice  and 
policy.  He  had  discovered  in  these  mountaineers  such  sincerity 
and  good-nature,  joined  with  an  ardent  desire  for  peace — such 
a  total  ignorance  of  intrigues,  and  a  confidence  so  extraordinary 
in  the  good  faith  of  others — that  he  saw  at  once  the  use  which 
might  be  made  of  these  qualities.  Having  skilfully  set  Jacomel, 
the  inquisitor,  to  work,  and  especially  Gastaud,  his  private  secre- 
tary, who  pretended  to  love  the  gospel,  the  count  was  not 
ashamed  to  deceive  the  principal  persons  of  Angrogna,  whom 
he  had  sent  for,  repeating  to  them  the  pretended  language  of 
the  duke  and  duchess,  most  flattering  to  themselves,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  the  best  adapted  to  lay  their  suspicions  asleep ;  lead- 
ing them  to  suppose,  that,  by  means  of  certain  compliances, 

*  According  to  the  same  letter. 


176  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

everything  might  be  arranged  amicably.  He  thus  succeeded  in 
making  them  deposit,  in  the  house  of  one  of  their  syndics,  some 
of  their  arms,  which  he  seized,  to  allow  the  celebration  (merely 
for  form's  sake,  as  it  was  pretended)  of  a  mass  in  the  temple  of 
St.  Laurent,  at  Angrogna,  and  to  lead  him,  a  hostile  general,  to 
Pra-di-torre,  a  natural  fortress,  their  ordinary  refuge  in  times 
of  persecution.  Certainly  the  people  of  Angrogna  displayed  a 
superabundance  of  confidence  or  of  simplicity.  To  crown  the 
whole,  he  induced  them,  and,  after  their  example,  the  other 
communes,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  some  intelligent  men,  and 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  ministers,  to  send  the  principal  persons 
of  their  valleys  as  a  deputation  to  the  duke,  then  residing  at 
Vercelli,  (Turin  being  still  in  the  power  of  the  French,)  in  order 
to  obtain  peace. 

By  this  artifice,  the  Count  de  la  Trinite  gained  more  than  one 
point.  He  laid  asleep  the  vigilance  of  these  poor  people ;  he 
weakened  their  resolution  by  the  hope  of  peace ;  he  deprived 
them  of  their  best  counsellors,  and  prevented  them  doing  any- 
thing against  him,  for  fear  of  putting  in  peril  the  negotiation, 
and  even  the  lives  of  their  chiefs,  who  were  actually  in  the  hands 
of  the  papists.  On  the  other  hand,  by  these  measures,  the  count 
imposed  no  constraint  upon  himself,  and  was  left  quite  free  in 
his  movements,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 

Scarcely  had  the  deputies  left  for  Vercelli  when  the  count 
began  again  to  molest  the  people  of  Taillaret,  a  large  hamlet  in 
the  commune  of  La  Torre,  situated  to  the  north-west,  at  the  foot 
of  the  majestic  Vandalin.  This  locality  is  of  peculiar  import- 
ance in  time  of  war,  being  at  the  junction  of  the  mountain  roads, 
which  form  a  communication  between  the  higher  hamlets  of 
Villaro  and  the  town  of  La  Torre,  and  likewise  between  these 
same  hamlets  and  town,  and  the  glen  of  Pra-di-torre,  in  the 
valley  of  Angrogna.  Complaining  of  the  want  of  respect  shown 
to  him,  and  of  threats  against  his  people,  (in  the  style  of  the 
wolf  in  the  fable,)  he  required,  first  of  all,  that  they  should 
humble  themselves  before  him ;  then  that  they  should  surrender 
all  their  arms  ;  then  he  pillaged  all  their  dwellings,  no  doubt,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  abandoned,  and  that  the  road  to  the 
mountains  might  be  left  open  to  him.  He  also  made  a  great 
number  prisoners.  He  acted  in  the  same  manner  in  the  hamlets 
of  Villaro.     The  oppression  became  such,  that  at  La  Torre, 


COUNT   DE    LA    TRINITE.  177 

under  the  very  eyes  of  the  general,  nothing  was  secure ;  and  the 
evangelical  inhabitants  of  the  town  endeavoured  to  secrete 
themselves,  their  wives,  and  their  daughters,  with  whatever 
they  could  carry  away,  in  the  caverns  of  the  rocks,  although  it 
was  winter.  Others,  more  fortunate,  found  an  asylum  in  the 
neighbouring  communes.  The  soldiers  tracked  them  to  their 
hiding-places.  Let  us  mention  one  instance.  They  found  in  a 
cavern  an  aged  man,  a  hundred  and  three  years  old,  and  his 
grand-daughter,  who  took  care  of  him.  After  having  killed  the 
venerable  man,  they  would  have  violated  the  girl,  but  she  sprang 
over  the  precipice,  preferring  death  to  dishonour. 

La  Trinite  also  exacted  a  contribution  of  six  thousand  dollars 
from  the  valley.  He  then  required  the  dismissal  of  the  ministers ; 
at  least,  he  said,  till  the  return  of  the  deputies.  They  were 
obliged,  or  rather  thought  they  were  obliged,  to  consent.  He 
hoped  to  be  able  to  make  himself  master  of  their  persons  on  their 
departure ;  but  the  Vaudois  took  such  precautions,  that  they  con- 
ducted them  in  safety,  even  across  the  snows  and  the  high  passes 
of  Giuliano,  and  then  through  the  vale  of  San  Martino  to  their 
brethren  of  Pragela  in  the  French  territory.  Stephen  Noel, 
pastor  of  Angrogna,  alone  was  excepted,  as  by  favour  of  the 
count,  who  pretended  to  hold  him  in  high  esteem.  But  it  was 
soon  seen  that  this  was  done  only  in  the  hopes  of  carrying  him 
off  with  greater  certainty.  The  scheme  happily  failed,  thanks 
to  the  attachment  of  Noel's  parishioners,  who  protected  him 
against  the  soldiers  sent  to  seize  him,  and  conducted  him  out  of 
their  reach. 

At  last,  the  Count  de  la  Trinite,  having  destroyed  all  the 
wine  and  all  the  crops  that  he  could  not  carry  away  with  him, 
and  having  broken  in  pieces  all  the  mills  he  could  lay  hands  on, 
led  his  army  into  winter-quarters  in  the  plain,  leaving  strong 
garrisons  in  the  forts  and  castles  of  La  Torre,  Villaro,  Perosa, 
and  Perrier. 

During  their  leader's  absence,  these  garrisons  committed  all 
kinds  of  cruelties  and  atrocities.  But  it  is  more  creditable  to 
be  silent  upon  them,  than  to  relate  them. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  valleys  waited  with  great  impatience 

for  the  deputies  who  had  been  sent  to  Vercelli,  for  the  purpose 

of  obtaining  an  honourable  capitulation.      At  length,  tidings 

oame  of  their  return  to  their  beloved  mountains,  to  the  bosom 

8* 


178  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

of  their  families,  and  their  persecuted  brethren.  But  it  was 
seen,  even  before  they  uttered  a  syllable,  by  their  appearance 
of  sorrow,  and  their  downcast  looks,  that  they  brought  no  good 
news, — that  they  had  been  cruelly  deceived,  that  they  were 
ashamed  both  of  themselves  and  of  the  part  they  had  been  made 
to  act.  Gastaud,  the  count's  secretary,  they  said,  had  frightened 
them,  arid  made  them  present  to  the  duke  a  letter  totally  differ- 
ent from  the  one  which  their  brethren  of  the  valleys  had  charged 
them  to  deliver.  They  had  been  made  to  ask  pardon  of  his 
highness  and  of  the  pope's  legate.  During  the  six  weeks  of 
their  sojourn  at  Vercelli,  they  had  been  continually  worried  by 
the  monks.  They  had  been  loaded  with  insults  and  threats,  till 
they  felt  themselves  constrained  to  promise  to  go  to  mass.  They 
brought  back  a  formal  order  to  the  Yaudois  communes  to  re- 
ceive the  priests,  to  contribute  to  their  support,  and  to  consent 
to  the  Romish  worship,  and  consequently  to  the  introduction  of 
the  mass,  under  pain  of  a  general  extermination. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  Their  situation  had  become  worse 
than  before.  There  remained  only  to  choose  between  apostasy 
■with  peace,  but  at  the  price  of  their  soul's  salvation,  and  fidelity 
to  God,  his  word,  and  the  apostolic  Church,  with  a  prospect  of 
terrible  and  immediate  sufferings,  but  with  the  approbation  of 
conscience,  and  the  hope  of  the  crown  of  life  in  heaven  with  the 
Lord.  Placed  between  these  two  alternatives,  the  people  chose 
the  good  part.  They  preferred  life  eternal  to  the  good  things 
of  the  present  world.  They  rejected  the  disgraceful  conditions 
■which  had  been  imposed  upon  them  in  the  name  of  the  prince. 
They  recalled  their  pastors,  and  again  held  divine  service  pub- 
licly, and  in  the  usual  form.  Where  the  introduction  of  some 
images  into  the  temple  had  been  allowed,  as  for  example  at 
Bobbio,  they  pulled  them  down  with  indignation.  Everywhere 
the  generous  intention  was  decidedly  manifested  of  suffering 
everything,  even  to  burning,  flight,  and  death,  rather  than  deny 
the  faith  of  their  fathers. 

The  pastors  also  received  in  these  critical  circumstances  letters 
full  of  affection  and  Christian  sympathy  from  their  brethren  in 
foreign  parts.  The  assurance  of  a  lively  interest  which  they 
conveyed  to  them,  the  knowledge  of  the  prayers  that  were 
offered  up  for  them  in  various  places,  the  advices  of  the  purest 
brotherly  love,  and  the  exhortations  to  look  alone  to  God  for  dc- 


INCREASED  OPPRESSION.  179 

liverance — all  these  testimonies  did  them  good ;  they  felt  them- 
selves less  alone  in  the  conflict. 

The  sincere  attachment  which  their  neighbours  and  brethren 
in  the  faith  of  the  vale  of  Clusone,  or  Pragela  *  had  always  shown 
them,  both  in  brighter  days  and  in  times  of  distress  and  persecu- 
tion, but  particularly  in  the  latter,  suggested  a  renewal  of  their 
ancient  union.  Deputies  from  the  three  valleys  crossed  the  moun- 
tains, covered  with  snow,  and  brought  proposals  of  alliance  to  the 
communities  in  Clusone,  whom  their  sovereign,  Francis  I.,  king 
of  France,  had  also  issued  orders  to  persecute.  The  alliance 
was  accepted  without  hesitation,  and  immediately  ratified.  It 
was  agreed  to  render  mutual  succour  with  all  their  disposable 
means,  whenever  their  ancient  apostolic  Church  should  be  per- 
secuted. The  fidelity  of  the  contracting  parties  to  their  respec- 
tive sovereigns!  was,  however,  carefully  reserved.  The  mes- 
sengers from  the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  Perosa,  and  San  Martino, 
received  the  oath  of  their  brethren  in  Dauphine,  who,  in  their 
turn,  sent  deputies  to  receive  the  oath  of  their  allies.  They  ar- 
rived by  way  of  Giuliano  at  Bobbio,  where  the  alliance  was 
unanimously  sworn  to  by  the  assembly  of  all  the  heads  of  families. 
On  the  next  day,  they  were  spectators  of  the  first  aggressive 
act  of  these  peaceable  men,  who,  in  the  hope  of  peace,  had 
always  hitherto  kept  strictly  on  the  defensive.  All  the  people 
of  the  western  hamlets  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna  rushed  down, 
like  one  of  their  mountain  torrents,  on  the  fortress  of  Villaro, 
and  demanded  the  release  of  their  relations  who  were  confined 
in  its  dungeons.  The  gentry  of  the  district,  who  were  in  the 
castle,  aided  the  garrison  in  making  a  vigorous  defence.  The 
Vaudois  wanted  artillery  and  other  means  for  carrying  on  a 
siege.  One  division  of  them  had  to  guard  the  road  to  La  Torre, 
for  they  there  fought  three  times  in  four  days  with  the  troops 
which  the  commandant  of  the  castle  in  the  latter  place  had  sent 
to  succour  his  companions  in  arms.  The  besieged,  however, 
being  ill  supplied  with  provisions,  and,  above  all,  in  want  of 
water,  were  obliged  to  capitulate  on  the  tenth  day.     They  sur- 

*  A  valley  to  the  north  of  the  three  Vaudois  valleys  of  Piedmont :  the  vale 
of  Clusone  is  the  continuation  of  the  valley  of  Perosa. 

t  Although  the  vale  of  Clusone  is  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Alps,  enclosed 
in  the  Piedmontese  possessions  of  the  house  of  Savoy,  it  anciently  made  a  part 
of  Dauphine,  and  still  belonged  nt  Hint  lime  to  France. 


180  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

rendered  the  fortress,  which  was  immediately  demolished,  and 
thought  themselves  well  off  in  being  conducted  to  their  advanced 
posts,  and  escaping  with  their  lives. 

In  the  interval,  the  deputies  of  all  the  communes  had  met  and 
ratified  the  alliance  with  an  oath,  promising  mutual  succour,  and 
engaging  to  determine  on  nothing  without  consulting  one  another. 
Among  the  measures  of  detail  which  they  adopted,  we  must  not 
omit  noticing  the  levy  of  a  chosen  troop  of  one  hundred  mus- 
keteers for  constant  service,  and  destined  to  hasten  to  any  point 
where  an  attack  was  threatened,  and  on  that  account  called  "  The 
Flying  Company."  It  is  also  worthy  of  notice  and  commenda- 
tion, that  two  pastors  were  appointed  to  attend  them  alternately 
in  all  their  expeditions,  to  remind  them  of  their  Christian  duties, 
to  check  all  excess,  and  regularly  to  celebrate  religious  service. 

It  was  quite  time  to  prepare  for  the  warfare ;  for  the  Count  de 
la  Trinite,  having  heard  of  the  siege  of  Villaro,  hastened  to  col- 
lect his  troops  that  were  scattered  in  winter-quarters  over  the 
plain,  and  to  throw  them  into  the  valley  of  Lucerna.  Having 
arrived  on  February  2d,  1561,  the  day  after  the  surrender  of 
the  fortress,  he  renounced  for  a  time  his  purpose  of  taking  ven- 
geance on  the  farther  end  of  the  valley ;  but,  after  having  again 
tried,  though  uselessly,  to  divide  his  adversaries,  by  making  offers 
and  promises  to  the  people  of  Angrogna,  he  resumed  his  prepa- 
rations against  the  citadel  of  these  mountains ;  we  mean,  the 
higher  part  of  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  called  the  Pra-di-torre. 
This  spot,  celebrated  in  the  history  of  the  valleys,  (see  Ch.  XVI.,) 
is  in  the  shape  of  an  immense  funnel,  of  which  the  sides  are  of 
different  heights,  and  which  is  much  broken  on  one  of  them.  It 
is  girt  on  the  north  by  high  rocky  cliffs  which  separate  it  from 
the  vale  of  San  Martino ;  on  the  west  by  the  impassable  chain 
of  the  snowy  mountains  of  the  Rora,  and  the  indented  peaks, 
which  envelop  the  Alpine  valley  of  La  Sellaveilla,  with  its  sum- 
mer cottages ;  on  the  south  by  the  sloping  sides  of  the  superb 
Vandalin ;  lastly,  on  the  east,  by  pasture-lands,  more  or  less  in- 
clined, and  by  a  mass  of  rocks,  called  Rocciailla,  which,  although 
inferior  in  height  to  the  proud  peaks  in  the  vicinity,  form,  never- 
theless, an  insurmountable  barrier  between  the  foot  of  Mount 
Cervin,  on  the  north,  and  the  torrent  of  Angrogna,  on  the  south. 
Between  these  lofty  mountains  and  La  Rocciailla,  a  meadow 
called  the  Pra,  or  Pra-di-torre.  with  its  small  town,  is  stretched 


ATTACKED  IN  THEIR  REFUGE  OF  PRA-DI-TORRE.  181 

by  the  side  of  a  pure  and  murmuring  stream,  and  on  all  sides, 
on  the  slopes,  the  little  domains  with  their  rustic  buildings  sur- 
rounded by  orchards.  This  district  is  thickly  peopled  in  sum- 
mer, though  much  less  in  winter ;  but  it  had  not  ceased  to  be 
so  in  the  rigorous  months,  from  the  end  of  1560  and  the  com- 
mencement of  1561.  The  return  of  the  Count  de  la  Trinite  to 
the  valleys  caused  the  inhabitants  of  Angrogna  immediately  to 
take  refuge  in  their  ancient  asylum.  A  mill  was  already  in  ex- 
istence there  for  the  use  of  the  locality,  and  they  prudently  con- 
structed a  second. — Gilles,  ch.  xxiii,  p.  142. 

The  enemy,  clearly  perceiving  that  the  asylum  of  the  Pra-di- 
torre  was  (so  to  speak)  the  heart  of  the  valleys,  and  that  the 
only  method  of  inflicting  a  fatal  wound  was  to  make  themselves 
masters  of  it,  directed  all  their  efforts  to  this  quarter.  After  two 
successive  attacks  on  the  lower  part  of  Angrogna,  the  first,  fruit- 
less, and  the  second,  made  on  different  sides  at  once,  with  large 
forces  and  complete  success,  although  dearly  purchased,  the  Count 
de  la  Trinite*  was  master  of  the  country  as  far  as  Rocciailla  and 
la  Cassa.  Then,  after  having  set  fire  to  all  the  hamlets,  without 
being  able,  however,  to  burn  down  the  two  temples,  he  assaulted 
the  Pra-di-torre  on  the  14th  of  February,  at  three  different  points ; 
namely,  by  its  natural  entrance  on  the  south-east,  along  the  tor- 
rent and  at  the  foot  of  Rocciailla,  by  the  heights  which  separate 
it  on  the  north-east  from  the  valley  of  Pramol,  and  on  the  north, 
by  those  of  the  valley  of  San  Martino.  The  attack  by  the  or- 
dinary road  on  the  south-east,  was  announced  by  the  conflagra- 
tion. At  the  sight  of  the  flames,  consuming  the  forsaken  hamlets, 
the  refugees  might  suppose  that  the  army  was  approaching ;  they 
would  perhaps  have  thrown  themselves  in  a  mass  in  this  direc- 
tion, if  they  had  not  suspected  a  feint,  and  recollected  that  at  all 
events  a  few  men  would  suffice  to  defend  so  narrow  a  passage. 
They  were  not  mistaken.  The  attack  on  this  side  was  only  feign- 
ed. Six  musketeers  stopped  and  put  to  flight  the  hostile  detach- 
ment. Another  division  which  suddenly  appeared  on  the  plateau 
of  La  Vachere,  to  the  north-east  of  Rocciailla,  coming  from  Pra- 
mol,* where  it  had  passed  the  night,  met  with  the  same  fate. 
But  while  our  warlike  peasantry  were  pursuing  them,  there  was 

*  In  making  this  circuit  by  St.  Germain  and  Pramol,  the  enemy  had  gone  round 
the  dangerous  passage  of  La  Cassa,  a  little  to  the  east,  composed  of  the  debris 
of  broken  and  scattered  rocks. 


182  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

descried  in  the  direction  of  the  Pra-di-torre,  on  the  ridges  of 
the  high  mountains  which  separate  it  on  the  north  from  the  vale 
of  San  Martino,  a  considerable  body  of  soldiers  rapidly  descend- 
ing. A  cry  of  alarm  was  raised.  The  defenceless  multitude  ad 
dressed  a  fervent  prayer  to  God,  and  while  some  ran  to  give  no- 
tice to  their  principal  force,  which  was  occupied  in  pursuing  the 
fugitives  on  the  side  of  La  Vachere,  only  twenty-five  or  thirty 
men  went  up  to  meet  the  enemy.  Being  very  soon  rejoined  by 
their  victorious  brethren  and  by  the  Flying  Company,  they  fell 
on  their  knees,  in  sight  of  the  papists,  praying  God  to  succour 
them,  and  then  assailed  their  adversaries  so  impetuously  that 
they  fled  panic-stricken  before  them.  Twice  the  unfortunate 
soldiers,  fatigued  by  an  extraordinary  and  forced  march  over  the 
slippery  turf  or  the  rolling  stones  of  the  mountain,  turned  about, 
preferring  to  fight  rather  than  to  clamber  up  the  same  endless 
declivities  which  they  had  just  descended ;  and  twice,  terrified 
by  the  spirit  and  rising  courage  of  the  Vaudois,  they  again  fled 
and  dispersed  in  all  directions.  The  strong-limbed,  practised 
mountaineers  soon  came  up  to  them,  and  despatched  them.  The 
slaughter  was  great,  and  would  have  been  still  greater  if  the 
chaplain  of  the  Flying  Company  had  not  checked  it  whenever 
he  could  make  his  voice  heard. 

This  combat  cost  the  lives  of  two  of  the  principal  officers  in 
the  count's  army.  One,  Charles  Truchet,  lord  of  Rioclaret,  who 
had  persecuted  his  own  vassals,  as  we  have  seen,  and  was  one  of 
the  promoters  of  this  war,  was  first  struck  to  the  ground  by  a 
stone  from  a  sling,  and,  being  left  by  his  men,  had  his  head  cut 
off  with  his  own  sword.  He  was  lamented  by  his  general  and 
the  army,  for  he  was  valiant  and  experienced.  The  other  officer, 
Louis  de  Monteil,  who  was  among  the  first  that  fled,  had  passed 
the  summit  of  the  mountain,  when  a  young  man  of  eighteen 
came  up  with  him  in  the  snow,  refused  his  ransom,  and  killed  him. 

Thus  the  hopes  of  the  papists,  relative  to  this  great  enterprise, 
vanished.  God  granted  the  victory  to  his  children.  The  pastors, 
and  all  who  were  unable  to  fight,  never  ceased,  from  morning 
to  evening,  to  call  upon  his  name, — like  Moses,  Hur,  and  Aaron, 
when  Israel  fought  with  Amalek.  In  the  evening,  the  air  re- 
sounded in  all  directions  with  songs  of  praise  and  expressions  of 
gratitude  to  God.  By  this  victory,  the  Vaudois  gained  consider- 
able booty  in  arms,  clothing,  and  warlike  stores. 


ATTACKED  IN  THE  REFUGE  OF  PRA-DI-TORRE.   183 

Not  having  been  successful  at  the  Pra-di-torre,  La  Trinite", 
who  had  already  burned  the  greater  part  of  the  hamlets  of  An- 
grogna,  vented  his  wrath  on  some  villages  in  the  vale  of  Lucerna. 
He  surprised  the  village  of  Rora,  composed  of  eighty  families, 
and  situated  in  a  glen  behind  the  mountain  which  rises  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Pelice,  to  the  south  of  La  Torre  and  Villaro, 
and  which,  inclining  towards  the  east,  pours  its  waters  into  the 
river  just  named,  a  little  way  from  the  town  of  Lucerna ;  yet, 
in  spite  of  the  forces  which  the  general  sent,  he  did  not  make 
himself  master  of  the  village  till  the  third  day ;  and  such  was  the 
determined  courage  of  as  many  of  the  inhabitants  as  could  bear 
arms,  and  particularly  of  the  Flying  Company,  who  were  sent 
to  their  aid,  that  all  the  families,  and  even  some  of  their  goods, 
were  saved,  and  brought  across  the  snow  by  dangerous  paths  to 
Villaro,  where  they  were  received  with  the  most  cordial  hos- 
pitality. 

Villaro  had  also  been  pointed  out  by  the  count  to  his  officers 
as  a  place  to  be  attacked.  His  army  moved  from  la  Torre  in 
three  divisions ;  the  main  body  consisting  of  infantry,  by  the  high 
road ;  the  cavalry,  with  the  pioneers,  and  some  light  troops  along 
the  Pelice,  in  the  plain ;  the  third  column  followed,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  the  path  which  goes  behind  La  Torre  and  passes 
between  Bobbio  and  Villaro.  The  duke's  troops  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  in  an  open  country.  The  Vaudois  were 
obliged  to  give  way  on  all  points.  Perhaps  they  were  too  much 
bent  on  defending  some  advanced  posts.  At  this  time  they 
were  turned,  and  obliged  to  retreat,  with  some  loss,  abandoning 
Villaro,  to  take  a  position  among  the  vineyards  at  the  entrance 
of  La  Combe,  which  the  enemy  was  never  able  to  force.  They 
beheld  their  large  and  beautiful  village  burned  before  their  eyes ; 
but  considered  themselves  as  less  unfortunate,  in  this  disaster, 
than  if  the  enemy  had  established  and  fortified  themselves  in 
their  abodes. 

La  Trinite  continued  his  ravages  to  the  farther  end  of  the 
valley,  pillaging,  burning,  and  slaughtering.  He  even  attempted 
to  attack,  with  considerable  forces,  the  higher  hamlets  in  the  com- 
mune of  Villaro ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  the  attempt, 
and  to  retire  with  loss. 

The  end  of  February  was  now  come.  The  count,  seeing  his 
army  much  reduced,  spent  a  month  in  reinforcing  it,     New 


184  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

troops  arrived  every  day  at  head-quarters.  The  duke  of  Savoy 
even  obtained  from  the  king  of  France  ten  companies  of  foot- 
soldiers,  and  some  other  choice  troops.*  A  body  of  Spaniards 
also  joined  the  standard  of  persecution ;  so  that  from  four  thou- 
sand men,  which  composed  the  army  of  La  Trinite  at  first,  the 
numbers  rose  to  about  seven  thousand.  It  included  in  its  ranks 
the  nobility  of  the  country.  At  the  head  of  such  a  fine  army, 
the  count  thought  himself  sure  of  success,  and  his  first  efforts 
were  directed  against  the  heart  and  bulwark  of  the  valleys,  the 
asylum  of  all  the  fugitives,  the  celebrated  Pra-di-torre.  On  the 
1 7th  of  March,  he  attacked  it ;  but,  happily,  the  enemy  was  per- 
ceived in  time,  and  repulsed.  Beaten  at  once,  at  all  the  three 
points  of  attack,  the  general  saw  his  best  officers  killed  before 
his  face,  and  his  choice  and  renowned  troops  decimated.  He 
gave  up,  therefore,  the  design  of  continuing  the  assault  on  the 
following  days,  although  he  had  made  preparations  for  so  doing, 
and  retreated  the  same  evening  with  his  harassed  army  and  the 
wounded,  leaving  a  great  number  dead  at  the  foot  of  the  ram- 
part, and  on  all  the  approaches. 

While  the  defeated  army  was  making  a  hasty  retreat,  the 
Vaudois  might  have  caused  it  irreparable  loss  by  attacking  it  in 
the  defiles,  across  the  torrents,  or  along  the  precipices ;  and  this 
was  the  wish  of  a  great  many.  But  the  principal  leaders,  and 
especially  the  ministers,  were  totally  averse  from  it,  reminding 
them  that  it  was  agreed  to  employ  arms  only  to  defend  their 
lives,  and  to  use  them  only  as  long  as  they  were  threatened. 
Admirable  moderation !  and  the  more  exemplary,  since  those 
towards  whom  it  was  exercised  were  devoid  of  pity. 

The  success  of  this  affair  restored  courage  and  hope  to  the 
Vaudois.  Their  enemies,  on  the  contrary,  were  disconcerted, 
and  cast  down.  "  God  fights  for  them !"  they  exclaimed ;  and 
these  words  were  echoed  through  Piedmont.  Even  the  count 
appeared  desirous  of  peace,  and  made  proposals  for  a  treaty  with 
these  invincible  peasants.  They  replied,  that  they  also  wished 
to  see  the  war  at  an  end,  and  followed  by  an  honourable  peace, 
which  should  allow  them  to  serve  God  with  a  good  conscience. 
But  they  did  not  dare  to  trust  him,  after  having  been  duped 
more  than  once  by  his  fair  words,  and  having  even  experienced 

*  See  Leger,  who  quotes  the  Histoire  Universelle  of  d'Aubigni.     (Leger,  pt. 
ii,  pp.  36,  37  ;  Gilles,  chap,  xxv,  p.  150.) 


ATTACK  ON  THE  REFUGE  OF  PRA-DI-TORRE.   185 

that  he  talked  of  peace  when  he  was  meditating  the  most  violent 
attacks.  They  showed  more  confidence  in  Philip  of  Savoy, 
count  of  Raconis,  who,  although  chief  commissioner  of  the  perse- 
cution, seemed  to  disapprove  of  this  war.  They  received  his 
envoy  favourably, — the  same  Gilles  of  Bricherasco,  who  had 
succeeded  in  placing  their  complaints,  requests,  and  apologies, 
in  the  hands  of  the  princess  of  Savoy,  at  Nice,  in  the  preceding 
year ;  but  a  most  melancholy  event  occurred  to  interrupt  this 
negotiation.  Gilles,  although  it  was  growing  late,  wished  to  re- 
turn the  same  evening  to  the  count's  quarters.  They  gave  him 
an  escort ;  but  having  dismissed  it  too  soon,  he  was  killed  by  two 
men  of  Angrogna,  who  met  him.  The  measures  they  at  once 
adopted  towards  the  count  de  Raconis,  and  the  immediate  sur- 
render of  the  offenders,  freed  the  Yaudois  authorities  from  all 
suspicion  of  being  implicated  in  the  act ;  but,  for  a  time,  it  inter- 
rupted the  negotiations. 

During  this  parley,  the  count's  army  marched  to  the  valley 
of  San  Martino,  to  raise  the  siege  of  the  castle  of  Perrier,  which 
was  closely  invested  by  the  Vaudois  of  the  vicinity,  and  by  their 
neighbours  and  allies  of  the  valley  of  Clusone.  At  its  approach 
the  besiegers  retired,  with  their  brethren  of  the  lower  villages, 
to  the  hamlets  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley,  where  they  suc- 
cessfully defended  themselves  for  a  month,  and  then  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  the  enemy  retire. 

The  Vaudois,  who  had  retreated  into  the  most  rugged  and 
savage  localities,  pressed  and  crowded  into  a  few  huts  with  all 
their  families,  saw  their  provisions  rapidly  diminish,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  the  number  of  their  fugitive  brethren,  who  re- 
sorted to  them  in  quest  of  shelter  and  food,  increased.  It  might 
have  been  apprehended  that  famine  would  come,  in  addition  to 
so  many  other  sufferings,  to  weaken  their  bodies  and  discourage 
their  hearts ;  but  He  who  fed  Elijah  by  the  brook  Cherith,  sup- 
plied the  wants  of  his  servants  who  had  taken  refuge  among  the 
sources  of  their  mountain-torrents,  and  replenished  the  vessels 
of  the  widows,  the  children,  and  the  poor,  with  flour  and  oil,  ac- 
cording to  their  desire,  as  he  once  did  for  the  pious  widow  of 
Zarephath. 

The  genial  mildness  of  spring  began  to  be  felt  even  on  the 
mountains.  But  while  the  sovereign  Benefactor  and  Disposer 
of  all  things  was  awakening  creation  to  new  life,  and  shedding 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

fertility  over  the  earth,  the  cruel  Count  de  la  Trinite  was  only- 
planning  how  to  destroy  God's  noblest  creatures,  and  moisten 
the  soil  with  their  blood.  He  longed,  at  any  cost,  to  penetrate 
the  asylum  of  the  Pra-di-torre,  to  quench  his  thirst  in  a  stream 
of  blood,  like  a  famished  wolf,  who,  with  open  jaws  and  parched 
tongue  hanging  from  his  mouth,  prowls  for  days,  with  fury  in  his 
heart,  round  a  multitude  of  sheep  and  lambs,  in  a  well-enclosed 
fold,  seeking  for  some  opening  by  which  to  enter  in.  Such  an 
entrance  the  count  hoped  that  he  had  found  at  last.  He  plan- 
ned to  surprise  the  Pra-di-torre  through  the  hamlet  of  Taillaret, 
which  is  situated  to  the  north  of  La  Torre.  To  succeed  on  this 
side,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  reach  the  plateau  of  Costa 
Roussina  unobserved,  with  the  whole  of  the  forces  employed, 
before  the  alarm  could  be  given ;  otherwise  the  troops  would  be 
liable  to  be  assailed  from  the  higher  ground,  and  infallibly  driven 
back,  while  climbing  up  a  slope  of  more  than  two  leagues  in 
length.  The  woful  end  of  Truchet  and  his  division,  who  were 
cut  in  pieces  in  a  like  situation,  by  a  small  number  of  herdsmen, 
was  a  sufficient  lesson.  It  was  therefore  necessary,  if  possible, 
to  lay  asleep  the  vigilance  of  the  people  of  Taillaret,  and  their 
neighbours.  The  count,  whom  it  cost  but  little  to  play  the  hypo- 
crite, persuaded  some  influential  individuals  of  Taillaret,  and  in 
particular  Captain  Michael  Reymondet,  to  come  and  see  him, 
having  sent  them  the  necessary  passport.  He  flattered  their 
vanity  by  saying  that  the  duke  esteemed  them,  and  would  give 
them  proofs  of  his  good-will  if  they  would  lay  down  their  arms, 
and  cease  to  exhibit  distrust  and  a  spirit  of  revolt  by  the  inces- 
sant patrols  they  so  unnecessarily  kept  up.  He  assured  them, 
that  if  they  remained  quiet,  he  would  prevent  the  soldiers  from 
giving  them  the  least  vexation ;  but,  on  the  contrary  supposition, 
he  would  punish  them  with  the  utmost  rigour. 

The  vanity  of  these  poor  people  being  thus  wrought  upon, 
they  promised  to  remain  quiet,  and  they  kept  their  word,  not- 
withstanding the  warnings  and  reproaches  of  the  minister  of  the 
Flying  Company,  to  whom  they  gave  an  account  of  their  jour- 
ney. The  minister,  foreboding  what  would  happen,  collected  his 
company  of  musketeers  at  La  Combe  di  Villaro,  placed  sentinels, 
and  sent  messengers  in  different  directions  to  announce  an  im- 
pending attack :  in  fact,  at  daybreak,  the  small  corps  of  picked 
men  who  had  already  rendered  such  great  services  to  the  Vau- 


ALWAYS  CONQUERORS.  187 

dois  cause,  were  warned  by  the  advanced  sentinels  that  the  pa- 
pists were  marching  on  Taillaret.  They  immediately  set  out, 
by  a  dangerous  road,  along  slopes  and  precipices,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  coming  above  Taillaret,  where  they  would  overlook  the 
enemy.  Nevertheless,  the  latter,  in  several  bands,  surprised  all 
the  small  towns  in  this  extensive  quarter.  A  regiment  of  Spa- 
niards were  distinguished  for  their  excesses.  The  credulous  Rey- 
mondet  escaped,  not  without  difficulty,  with  his  wife,  and  her 
newly-born  infant.  The  troops  reached  the  plateau.  The 
Vaudois  musketeers  could  not  arrive  in  time.  From  the  summit 
of  the  mountain,  the  enemy  saw  before  them,  to  the  north,  the 
large  and  deep  oval  of  the  Pra-di-torre.  In  less  than  an  hour, 
descending  by  the  slopes  of  Barfe,  they  would  have  reached  the 
dwellings  on  the  south  side.  But  they  preferred  following  a 
path  which  would  allow  them  to  attack  the  Pra-di-torre  from 
above ;  this  proved  their  destruction.  The  Vaudois  had  finished 
their  customary  morning  prayer,  when,  almost  at  the  same  time, 
their  sentinels  gave  notice  of  the  enemy's  approach  at  three 
points;  by  the  plateau  on  the  south,  and  on  the  east  by  the 
two  roads  to  the  north  and  south  of  Rocciailla.  Twelve  men 
only  threw  themselves  forward  to  meet  the  column  issuing 
from  the  plateau  by  the  narrow  path,  and  they  were  sufficient 
to  stop  it. 

A  traveller  little  accustomed  to  a  mountainous  tract,  would 
advance  with  hesitation  and  trembling  on  a  path  scarcely  visible 
down  a  steep  declivity.  The  steps  of  the  great  part  of  the  duke's 
soldiers  were  not  more  firm ;  they  halted,  therefore,  when  they 
saw  their  narrow  passage  stopped  by  six  resolute  men;  and 
stones,  and  fragments  of  rocks,  which  six  others  were  detaching 
from  the  neighbouring  heights  to  roll  upon  them,  threatening  to 
hurl  them  down  with  one  bound  into  the  ravine.  But  their 
hearts  failed  them  entirely  when  they  saw  the  agile  and  intrepid 
mountaineers  running  in  constantly  increasing  numbers  to  the 
aid  of  their  advanced  guard.  They  turned  their  backs  and  fled 
precipitately  to  the  plateau,  where  some  of  their  troop  were 
resting.  In  the  mean  while,  the  Flying  Company,  advancing 
along  the  flank  of  the  Vandalin,  gained  the  heights  which  over- 
looked the  plateau,  and,  screening  themselves  behind  large  trees, 
rocks,  and  low  walls  that  separated  the  pasture  lands,  opened  a 
close  and  deadly  fire.     The  popish  troops,  crowded  together  and 


188  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

exposed,  lost  a  great  number,  while  the  sharpshooters  of  the 
mountains  had  only  three  killed.  At  last,  having  made  another 
attempt  to  act  on  the  offensive,  they  retreated,  not  by  way  of 
Taillaret,  which  would  have  been  too  exposed,  but  across  the 
summit  of  the  mountain,  which  sinks  insensibly,  and  directing 
their  course  to  La  Torre,  which,  owing  to  its  small  breadth,  was 
more  easily  defended. 

As  to  the  two  columns  which  were  advancing  by  Angrogna, 
as  they  were  not  to  act  alone,  but  simply  to  support  the  attack 
made  on  the  side  of  Taillaret,  by  causing  a  diversion,  they  re- 
treated as  soon  as  they  saw  their  companions  in  arms  put  to  flight 
on  the  neighbouring  mountain. 

Such  was  the  issue  of  the  last  attack  made  on  the  Vaudois  in 
this  campaign.  The  Count  de  la  Trinite,  probably  fearful,  after 
so  many  reverses,  of  being  attacked  in  his  quarters  at  La  Torre 
by  the  warlike  mountaineers,  broke  up  his  encampment  the 
same  night,  and  retreated  to  Cavor  with  a  part  of  his  troops. 
From  that  place,  he  threatened  again  to  ravage  the  whole 
country,  to  destroy  the  corn  in  the  bis  'n.  the  vines,  and  the 
trees ;  but  a  dangerous  illness,  which  brought  him  to  the  brink 
of  the  grave,  prevented  the  execution  of  his  evil  designs.  During 
his  compulsory  inactivity,  the  Vaudois  renewed  their  relations 
with  Philip  of  Savoy,  count  de  Eaconis,  which  had  been  inter- 
rupted by  the  murder  of  Gilles  of  Bricherasco.  This  prince, 
who,  in  the  discharge  of  his  office,  as  chief  commissioner,  had 
always  given  proofs  of  moderation,  showed  himself  favourable  to 
peace.  He  consented  to  transmit  to  the  duchess  the  desires  and 
request  of  her  persecuted  subjects,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
conditions  such  as  their  consciences  could  accept.  Having  re- 
ceived the  necessary  powers  for  negotiating,  the  Count  de 
Raconis  displayed  a  confiding  benevolence  which  shortened  the 
negotiation,  and  after  a  month  of  preliminary  conferences, 
brought  about  an  agreement  which  settled  all  the  questions  at 
issue,  and  was  signed  by  both  parties. 

A  general  pardon  was  granted  to  all  persons  in  the  valleys 
and  elsewhere,  who  had  taken  arms  against  his  highness  and 
against  their  particular  lords  on  account  of  religion. 

The  liberty  of  assembling  in  the  customary  places  to  hear 
sermons,  and  to  perform  all  the  acts  of  their  religion,  was  granted 
to  the  greater  part  of  the  communities  of  the  three  valleys,  and 


TREATY  OE  PEACE.  189 

likewise  of  building  edifices  for  this  purpose.  But  the  right  of 
preaching  and  holding  meetings  was  formally  denied  beyond  the 
limits  indicated  in  the  capitulation.  Nevertheless,  the  ministers 
were  authorized  to  make  pastoral  visits  to  such  of  their  people  as 
were  residents  in  places  where  they  had  not  the  public  exercise 
of  their  religion,  provided  these  visits  were  made  with  prudence 
and  discretion.  It  was  specified  that  the  answers  which  the 
Vaudois  might  give,  when  interrogated  concerning  their  faith, 
were  not  to  be  regarded  as  an  infraction  of  the  present  treaty, 
nor  as  preaching  for  the  purpose  of  making  proselytes. 

All  the  fugitives  of  the  said  valleys,  and  all  those  who  had 
abjured,  or  promised  to  abjure,  before  the  war,  were  permitted 
to  return  to  their  houses  with  their  families,  and  to  enjoy  the 
free  exercise  of  their  religion.  Their  goods  were  to  be  restored 
to  them ;  all  those,  at  least,  which  had  been  taken  from  them  in 
the  course  of  the  war.  A  similar  promise  was  made  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  valley  of  Meane,  and  of  St.  Barthelemi. 

Restitution  was  guaranteed  to  all,  by  legal  means,  of  their 
movables  and  cattle,  (excepting  what  had  been  carried  off  by  the 
soldiers,)  as  well  as  the  redemption  of  the  articles  sold  at  the 
same  price  as  the  purchasers  had  paid  for  them.  The  same  right 
was  secured  to  the  Roman  Catholics  against  the  Vaudois. 

To  the  Vaudois*  all  franchises  and  immunities  were  confirmed, 
as  well  as  all  privileges,  whether  granted  by  his  highness,  or  his 
predecessors,  or  by  the  lords,  provided  they  were  vouched  by 
public  documents. 

The  proper  administration  of  justice  was  promised  to  them. 

A  list  of  the  fugitives  who  were  to  return  was  to  be  prepared 
and  transmitted  to  his  highness. 

The  duke  reserved  to  himself  the  liberty  of  erecting  a  fortress 
at  Villaro ;  but  he  gave,  at  the  same  time,  the  assurance  that  it 
should  not  be  employed  to  the  prejudice  of  the  property  and  con- 
sciences of  the  people  of  the  valleys. 

The  duke  also  required  the  aforesaid  to  dismiss  such  of  their 
pastors  as  he  named;  but,  in  return,  he  permitted  them  to  fill 
up  their  places.  He  excluded,  however,  the  pastor  Martin,  of 
Pragela,  from  their  choice. 

*  In  the  capitulation  no  particular  name,  as  for  example  that  of  Vaudois, 
is  given  to  those  with  whom  it  is  made.  They  are  only  described  as  inhabitants 
of  the  valleys,  (ccux  des  vallecs.) 


190  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  right  of  celebrating  the  mass  and  other  services  of  the 
Romish  worship  in  all  the  parishes  of  the  valleys  was  renewed 
by  his  highness ;  but  the  liberty  of  not  being  present  at  them 
was  granted,  in  return,  to  those  of  the  opposite  religion,  while 
they  were  under  obligation  not  to  molest  those  who  wished  to 
attend  such  services. 

All  the  expenses  of  the  war  were  remitted  to  the  aforesaid,  as 
well  as  the  eight  thousand  dollars  which  they  owed  his  highness 
out  of  the  sixteen  thousand  which  they  had  engaged  to  pay. 

All  the  prisoners  that  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  soldiers 
were  to  T>e  released  for  a  moderate  ransom :  all  those  who  had 
been  sent  to  the  galleys  for  their  religion  were  to  be  set  at  liberty 
gratuitously. 

Permission  was  granted  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  valleys  of 
Meane,  and  other  places  mentioned  in  the  capitulation,  except 
the  ministers,  to  stay,  to  come  and  go,  to  buy,  sell,  and  traffic  in 
the  dominions  of  his  highness,  provided  their  settled  residence 
was  within  their  limits,  and  that  they  abstain,  in  their  journeys, 
from  controversy,  preaching,  and  holding  assemblies. 

This  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Cavor,  the  5th  of  June,  1561, 
in  the  name  of  the  duke,  by  Philip  of  Savoy,  count  de  Raconis, 
and  in  the  name  of  the  communities  of  the  valleys,  by  two  pas- 
tors, Francois  Val,  minister  of  Villaro,  and  Claude  Berge,  minis- 
ter of  Taillaret,  and  by  two  of  the  principal  deputies,  George 
Monastier,  syndic  of  Angrogna,  and  Michael  Reymondet,  envoy 
of  Taillaret* 

Such  was  the  arrangement  which  was  effected,  thanks  to  the 
noble  and  generous  heart  of  the  distinguished  Emmanuel  Phili- 
bert,  seconded  by  his  royal  consort,  Margaret  of  France,  by  the 
honourable  Philip  of  Savoy,  count  de  Raconis,  and  certainly  by 
the  majority  of  a  just  and  enlightened  council.  Whether  we 
call  it  a  compact,  a  treaty,  or  a  patent,  matters  little ;  the  essen- 
tial point  is,  that  the  contract  took  effect  according  to  the  en- 
gagement of  the  parties  who  signed  it.  Certainly  the  house  of 
Savoy  never  had  to  regret  the  policy  it  followed  on  this  occasion. 
If,  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  Rome,  it  has  often  per- 
secuted its  Vaudois  subjects,  by  afterwards  treating  them  with 

*  Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  38.  The  other  deputies  were  Rambaud,  of  Villaro  ;  Arduino, 
of  Bobbio  ;  Jean  Malanet,  of  San  Giovanni ;  Pierre  Pascal,  of  the  valley  of  San 
Martino  j  and  Thomas  Roman,  of  Saint- Germain,  for  the  valley  of  Perosa. 


THE  VAUDOIS  COLONIES.  191 

kindness,  it  so  won  their  hearts,  that  their  attachment,  fidelity, 
and  devotedness  to  it  has  never  failed. 

But  though  the  two  parties  immediately  interested  agreed  to 
the  convention,  finding  it  to  be  for  their  mutual  advantage,  there 
was  one  person  who  felt  highly  displeased ;  this  was  the  pope, 
to  whom  the  duke  communicated  the  transaction.  The  Roman 
pontiff  complained  bitterly.  He  thought  that  this  "  pernicious 
example "  of  tolerance  would  find  imitators,  and  that  by  their 
lax  indulgence,  heresy  would  take  perpetual  root  in  the  many 
kingdoms  placed  under  his  crosier.  The  monks  and  priests  of 
Piedmont  made  themselves  very  busy,  and  if  they  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  breaking  the  treaty,  they  at  least  retarded  or  shackled 
its  execution ;  particularly  in  what  concerned  the  restitution  of 
the  confiscated*  or  pillaged  goods,  and  the  liberation  of  the  pri- 
soners, particularly  those  who  had  been  sent  to  the  galleys. 
Nevertheless,  Philip  of  Savoy,  count  de  Raconis,  having  agreed 
to  lay  the  grievances  of  the  Vaudois  before  the  duchess,  that  ex- 
cellent princess,  after  consulting  with  the  venerable  pastor,  Noel 
of  Angrogna,  obtained  the  redress  of  all  their  wrongs  and  the 
strict  execution  of  the  treaty. 

The  persecution  lasted  fifteen  months,  seven  of  which  were 
spent  in  obstinate  warfare. 

We  now  leave  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  and  transport  ourselves 
to  one  of  their  ancient  colonies,  in  Calabria,  to  be  witnesses  of 
its  entire  destruction-! 


CHAPTER  XX. 

DESTRUCTION    OF  THE   VAUDOIS    COLONIES    IN    APULIA    AND 
CALABRIA. 

The  religious  life  which  the  Reformation  had  awakened  in  the 
ancient  Vaudois  churches  of  the  Alps,  manifested  itself,  though 
more  sloAvly,  among  their  colonies  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  The 
evangelical  doctrine,  constantly  taught  for  three  centuries  by  the 

*  This  restitution  met  with  obstacles,  especially  at  Bibbiana,  Fenile,  and  Cara- 
piglione,  small  towns  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  at  the  extreme  frontier  towards 
the  plain. 

t  For  the  whole  of  this  chapter  sec  Gilles,  chs.  xi,  to  xxviii.  Leger,  pt.  ii,  pp. 
29-40. 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Vaudois  barbes,  in  their  regular  missions  among  their  brethren 
of  Apulia  and  Calabria,  had  maintained  in  the  hearts  of  this  per- 
secuted race  an  indestructible  aversion  from  Romish  errors,  at 
the  same  time  that  it  gave  their  manners  a  character  of  mildness, 
sobriety,  chastity,  and  fidelity,  which  struck  all  persons  in  their 
vicinity,  though  a  certain  timidity  or  prudence  constrained  them, 
in  the  presence  of  the  enemies  of  their  faith,  to  conceal  part  of 
their  sentiments,  and  of  their  acts  of  worship.  JSJo  district  was 
more  peaceable  or  flourishing  in  the  whole  kingdom  of  Naples 
than  that  which  was  inhabited  and  cultivated  by  the  Vaudois  of 
Calabria,  not  far  from  Montalto,  and  of  which  San  Sesto  and 
Guardia  were  at  that  time  the  most  remarkable  places.  The  in- 
defatigable activity  of  these  labourers,  their  order,  their  good 
manners,  while  they  were  a  source  of  happiness  for  themselves, 
had  gained  for  them  the  favour  of  their  lords,  who  derived  con- 
siderable advantages  from  them, — such  as  higher  rents,  and  much 
greater  security  than  from  any  other  of  their  vassals. 

But  at  the  news  of  the  triumphs  of  the  Reformation,  the  noise 
made  by  its  doctrines,  and  the  profound  emotion  they  excited  in 
Italy,  suspicion  was  again  awakened,  and  marked  with  a  restless 
eye  the  most  trifling  proceedings  of  intelligent  and  generous  men. 
The  inquisition,  watching  its  prey,  followed  like  bloodhounds  the 
traces  of  the  numerous  writings,  and  especially  of  the  sacred 
books,  which  were  circulated  in  all  places  by  the  recent  inven- 
tion of  printing ;  and  when  the  Vaudois  colonies  of  Calabria 
awoke  from  their  slumbers,  agitated  by  the  gales  of  the  spirit  of 
life  which  blew  from  the  north,  they  were  encountered  by  the 
ferocious  aspect  of  their  sworn  foe,  watching  every  step  they 
took,  and  seeking  to  penetrate  into  their  most  secret  thoughts. 

Being  informed  by  the  barbes  who  were  sent  to  them,*  of  the 
courageous  resolutions  of  the  synod  of  Angrogna,  in  1532,  and 
feeling  constrained  to  glorify  their  Saviour  openly  by  the  exam- 
ple of  the  Reformed  Churches,  as  well  as  by  that  of  their  brethren 
of  Piedmont,  the  Vaudois  colonies  of  Calabria  wished  to  associate 
with  the  barbe  Etienne  Negrin,  who  had  come  to  them  from  the 
valleys,  a  minister  ordained  at  Geneva,  above  all  others  the  city 
of  the  Reformation.  They  deputed  for  this  purpose  one  of  their 
principal  men,  Marco  Uscegli,  who,  on  reaching  the  city  of  Cal- 

*  See  Chapter  XVII.— The  minister  Gilles,  ancestor  of  the  historian,  was  the 
last  of  these  barbes  who  could  return  in  peace  to  the  valleys. 


JEAN  LOUIS  PASCAL.  193 

vin,  spoke  on  behalf  of  the  Italian  Church,  and  obtained  what 
he  desired  for  it.  A  young  Piedmontese,  named  Jean  Louis  Pas- 
cal, was  then  finishing  his  studies  at  Lausanne ;  he  had  quitted 
popery  for  the  gospel,  and  the  military  service  for  that  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  By  general  consent  he  was  appointed  for 
the  perilous  mission  in  Calabria.  He  set  out  with  Uscegli,  leav- 
ing his  betrothed  bride*  at  Geneva,  whom  he  was  never  more 
to  see  in  this  world. 

Pascal's  energetic  ministry  was  not  in  vain.  His  preaching 
took  possession  of  the  souls  of  his  hearers.  The  light  so  often 
hid  under  a  bushel  was  now  placed  on  a  candlestick ;  but  its 
splendour,  beneficial  to  the  sound  eyes  of  the  true  believers,  ir- 
ritated the  diseased  organs  of  the  papists,  and  alarmed  the  prin- 
cipal lord  of  the  Vaudois  of  Calabria,  the  marquis  of  Spinello. 
Roused  by  the  outcry  raised  by  the  bigots  of  his  religion,  and 
perhaps  fearing  lest  he  should  himself  be  suspected  of  heresy  if 
he  did  not  act,  the  marquis,  who  had  been  heretofore  so  indulgent, 
now  had  recourse  to  measures  of  severity.  He  cited  before  him 
the  principal  of  his  vassals  along  with  Pascal.  He  censured  and 
threatened  them,  and  cast  the  faithful  pastor  and  his  friend  Us- 
cegli into  the  dungeons  of  Foscalda.  This  was  in  1558,  or  1559. 
The  diocesan  bishop  of  Cosenza,  not  being  contented  with  these 
arrests,  took  the  matter  into  his  own  hands.  He  attempted  a 
forced  conversion  of  the  prisoners,  if  that  were  possible ;  and  at 
the  same  time  persecuted  the  destitute  flock,  in  spite  of  the  secret 
efforts  of  the  marquis  to  turn  his  blows  aside. 

The  apprehension  of  Pascal,  and  the  perseverance  of  the  faith- 
ful Calabrians  in  the  evangelical  doctrine,  having  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  pope,  his  holiness  delegated  cardinal  Alexandrin, 
inquisitor-general,  to  put  an  end  to  heresy  in  the  kingdom  of  Na- 
ples. The  first  essay  at  forced  conversion  was  made  in  the  spring 
of  1560,  at  San  Sesto,  a  considerable  town  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Montalto.  Promises,  exhortations,  and  threats  were  alternate- 
ly employed :  nothing  was  neglected  to  overawe  or  seduce  the 
inhabitants ;  but  rather  than  attend  at  mass  they  all  fled  together 
to  a  wood  in  the  mountain.  The  inquisitors,  unable  to  pursue 
them  instantly,  betook  themselves  with  all  speed  to  the  Vaudois 
city  of  Guardia,  about  twelve  miles  distant.     Having  shut  the 

*[Hcr  name  was  Camilla  Guerina.  See  M'Orie's  History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion In  Italy,  p.  283.1 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

gates,  they  assembled  the  population,  and  falsely  announced  the 
return  of  the  inhabitants  of  San  Sesto  to  the  pale  of  the  Romish 
Church.  They  pretended  to  love  them,  and  pressed  them  to 
imitate  so  excellent  an  example.  The  marquis  of  Spinello  joined 
his  entreaties  to  those  of  these  deceitful  wretches,  and  promised 
them  new  temporal  advantages ;  and  these  poor  people,  deceived 
and  surprised,  yielded  and  promised  to  comply  with  the  demands 
made  upon  them.  The  truth,  however,  soon  became  known  to 
them,  and  a  considerable  part  escaped  and  proceeded  to  join  the 
fugitives  of  San  Sesto.  Two  companies  of  soldiers  were  sent  in 
pursuit  of  them.  In  vain  the  unfortunate  beings  begged  them 
to  come  to  terms  with  them,  and  allow  them  to  emigrate ;  they 
were  only  answered  by  denunciations  of  death.  Thus  con- 
strained to  defend  themselves  by  arms,  they  put  their  enemies 
to  flight. 

This  victory  gained  them  some  days  of  repose  ;  but  it  brought, 
into  Calabria  the  viceroy  in  person,  at  the  head  of  a  considera- 
ble number  of  troops.  The  fugitives  were  tracked  in  the  woods 
by  dogs  trained  for  the  purpose,  to  the  foot  of  trees  in  which  they 
had  taken  refuge,  or  to  the  copses  and  pits  where  they  were  se- 
creted. Scarcely  any  escaped,  but  all  were  either  taken  pri- 
soners or  killed.  While  the  viceroy  threatened  universal  de- 
struction, the  inquisitors  affected  compassion,  and  were  lavish  of 
their  expressions  of  peace,  and  thus  drew  the  credulous  people 
into  their  snares,  who,  as  the  chronicler  Gilles  says,  thinking  to 
escape  the  fury  of  the  lion,  threw  themselves  into  the  jaws  of 
the  serpent. 

When  these  double-faced  men  had,  by  their  artifices,  got  pos- 
session of  more  than  sixteen  hundred  persons,  they  threw  aside 
the  mask  and  the  executions  began.  They  wished  to  fix  on  their 
victims  the  odium  of  lewdness,  and  therefore  put  them  to  torture, 
hoping  to  force  from  them  the  confession  that  in  their  religious 
assemblies  they  were  guilty  of  detestable  impurities.  But  the 
patience  of  the  tortured  baffled  their  vile  design ;  no  one  con- 
fessed. Charlin  expired  on  the  rack  itself;  his  bowels  being 
forced  out.  Verminel,  who  had  even  consented  to  apostatize, 
was  kept  for  eight  hours  on  an  instrument  of  torture,  called  a  hell, 
without  being  prevailed  upon  to  confess  to  such  infamous  calum- 
nies. Marcon,  the  father,  was  beaten  with  iron  chains,  and  then 
killed.     One  of  his  sons  had  his  throat  cut :  and  the  other  was 


HORRIBLE   PUNISHMENTS.  195 

precipitated  from  a  high  tower.  Bernard  Conte,  for  having 
thrown  away  from  him  a  crucifix  which  they  wished  him  to  hold, 
was  led  to  Csoenza,  and  there,  covered  with  pitch,  he  was  burn- 
ed like  a  pine  torch ;  a  horrid  punishment,  copied  from  Nero. 
Sixty  women  were  tortured :  some  of  them  were  burned ;  others 
died  of  their  wounds ;  the  most  beautiful  disappeared.  Eighty- 
eight  men  of  Guardia  were  butchered  at  Montalto,  by  order  of 
the  inquisitor  Panza.  "  I  confess,"  says  a  witness  of  this  scene, 
a  Roman  Catholic,  in  a  letter  which  has  been  preserved  to  us,* 
"  I  can  only  compare  these  executions  to  a  slaughter-house.  The 
executioner  came,  and  called  out  one  of  the  unfortunate  crea- 
tures, and  having  wrapped  his  head  in  a  cloth,  led  him  to  a  spot 
adjoining  the  house,  made  him  fall  on  his  knees,  and  cut  his 
throat  with  a  knife.  Then,  taking  off  the  bloody  veil,  he  came 
for  another  prisoner,  who  underwent  the  same  fate  ;  in  this  man- 
ner eighty-eight  persons  were  butchered.  I  leave  your  imagi- 
nation to  picture  this  horrible  sight.  At  this  very  moment  I  can 
hardly  restrain  my  tears.  No  one  can  ever  describe  the  meek- 
ness and  patience  with  which  these  heretics  suffered  such  a  mar- 
tyrdom and  death.  A  small  number  of  them,  when  at  the  point 
of  death,  declared  that  they  embraced  the  Catholic  faith ;  but  the 
greater  part  died  in  their  infernal  obstinacy.  All  the  old  men 
ended  their  lives  with  an  imperturbable  calmness ;  only  the  young 
manifested  some  agitation.  A  shudder  comes  over  my  whole 
frame  when  I  picture  to  myself  the  executioner  with  the  bloody 
knife  between  his  teeth,  holding  the  dripping  napkin  in  his  hand, 
entering  the  house,  and,  with  his  arms  covered  .with  blood,  seiz- 
ing the  prisoners  one  after  another,  as  a  butcher  goes  and  takes 
the  sheep  he  is  about  to  slaughter." 

Their  bodies,  when  quartered,  were  fastened  to  stakes  all  along 
the  road  from  Montalto  to  Chateau- Vilar,  a  distance  of  thirty-six 
miles,  for  the  terror  of  heretics,  and  the  satisfaction  of  the  Ca- 
tholics. Those  who  were  not  massacred,  and  yet  would  not  ab- 
jure, were  sent  to  fill  the  Spanish  galleys.  Some  only  escaped 
by  flight  and  reached  the  valleys,  (the  women  dressed  as  men,) 

*  See  this  letter  in  Porta,  Historia  Reformationis  Rhetise,  t.  ii,  pp.  310-312: 
and  in  Pantaleon,  Reium  in  Eccles.  Gestarum,  pp.  337,  338.  The  author  of  the 
letter  also  says,  "  These  people  were  originally  from  the  valley  of  Angrogna, 
near  Savoy ;  and  in  Calabria  they  call  them  Ultra-Montanes.  They  still  occupy 
four  cities  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples  ;  but  I  have  not  learned  that  they  conduct 
themselves  amiss." 


196  H1ST0KY  OF  THE  VAUDOItf. 

when  the  persecution  described  in  the  preceding  chapter  was  at 
its  height ;  some,  still  later,  after  incessant  dangers,  being  forced 
to  travel  only  by  night,  very  frequently  to  go  up  the  course  of 
rivers  till  they  could  meet  with  fords,  scantily  fed  on  seeds,  roots, 
fruits,  and  what  they  could  get  as  alms,  or  purchase  in  out-of-the- 
way  places.  Many  of  them  were  stopped  on  the  road  and  de- 
livered up,  the  order  having  been  given  throughout  Italy,  to  all 
officers  of  police,  lightermen,  bargemen,  and  others,  not  to  allow 
to  pass,  and  to  every  inn-keeper,  not  to  lodge,  any  stranger  pre- 
senting himself  without  a  certificate  from  his  parish  priest,  attest- 
ed at  each  stage  of  his  journey,  from  the  place  of  his  setting  out. 
The  churches  of  the  Vaudois  valleys  mourned  over  those  of 
Calabria  that  were  thus  destroyed ;  especially  the  pastors  who 
had  exercised  their  ministry  among  them,  and  who  knew  each 
of  the  victims  whom  the  survivors  named  to  them.  Their  hearts 
were  melted  with  sorrow  when  they  learned  the  fate  of  their 
colleague,  Etienne  Negrin,  who,  after  having  resisted  all  the 
solicitations  and  seductions  of  the  priests  in  the  prison  of  Cosenza, 
died  of  starvation  or  of  other  secret  tortures.  As  to  Louis  Pascal, 
he  consummated,  after  all  the  others,  at  the  stake  at  Rome$  in 
the  presence  of  the  pope,  the  cardinals,  and  an  immense  con- 
course of  spectators,  the  sacrifice  which  he  had  begun  in  sepa- 
rating himself,  for  a  time,  as  he  supposed,  from  his  betrothed,  to 
visit  Calabria.  Neither  flatteries  nor  importunities ;  nor  the  con- 
tinual threats  of  a  crowd  of  monks  and  priests ;  nor  the  bodily 
sufferings  he  endured  in  damp  prisons,  where  he  was  not  even 
allowed  straw ;  nor  the  prayers  and  tears  of  a  dear  brother*  who 
remained  a  papist,  who  implored  him  to  recant,  and,  to  tempt  him 
more  strongly,  offered  him  half  his  property ;  nor  the  sad  remem- 
brance of  a  tender  friend,  who,  though  not  yet  espoused,  would 
by  his  death  be  left,  as  it  were,  a  widow ;  no  human  power, — in 
short,  nothing  could  move  this  faithful  and  tried  soul.  It  was 
decided  at  last  to  punish  him  without  waiting  any  longer.  The 
pope  determined  to  give  himself  the  pleasure  of  being  present 
at  the  last  moments  of  so  obstinate  a  heretic,  who  had  constantly 
called  him  antichrist. 

*  His  brother  thus  writes  :  "  It  was  hideous  to  see  him,  bareheaded,  his  arms 
and  hands  tied  so  tightly  with  small  cords  that  they  penetrated  the  flesh,  as  if 
he  were  about  to  be  led  to  the  gibbet.  Seeing  him  in  this  state,  and  going  for- 
ward to  embrace  him,  in  my  distress  I  fell  to  the  ground,  by  which  I  increased 
his  suffering."—  Cre spin,  Histoire  des  Martyrs,  fol.  520.— M'Crie,  p.  285. 


HORRIBLE  PUNISHMENTS.  197 

On  Monday,  the  9th  of  September,  1560,  an  excited  multitude 
might  be  seen  eagerly  pressing  towards  the  court  of  the  castle  of 
St.  Angelo.  A  scaffold,  and  close  by  a  pile  of  fagots,  had  been 
already  placed  there.  In  the  immediate  vicinity,  rose  an  am- 
phitheatre of  richly  decorated  benches,  on  which  were  seated  his 
holiness  the  pope,  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  on  earth,  the  cardinals, 
the  inquisitors,  with  priests,  and  monks  of  all  kinds  in  great  num- 
bers. When  the  martyr  to  Christian  truth  appeared,  dragging 
himself  along  with  difficulty  under  the  weight  of  his  chains,  his 
enemies,  who  watched  all  his  motions  and  the  play  of  his  features, 
ready  to  exult  in  the  least  symptom  of  weakness,  could  not  de- 
tect in  his  countenance  any  change  or  fear.  There  was  the  same 
mild  and  resigned  expression  which  had  never  left  him  during 
the  whole  time  of  his  long  imprisonment.  Having  arrived  at  the 
scaffold,  and  taking  advantage  of  a  short  interval  of  silence,  he 
declared  to  the  people  that  if  he  were  put  to  death,  it  would  not 
be  for  any  crime,  but  for  having  confessed  with  purity  and  bold- 
ness the  doctrine  of  his  Divine  Master  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
"  As  to  those,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "who  hold  the  pope  to  be  God 
upon  earth  and  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  are  strangely  mistaken, 
seeing  that  in  everything,  and  everywhere,  he  shows  himself  to 
be  a  mortal  enemy  of  His  doctrine  and  true  service,  and  of  pure 
religion,  and  by  his  actions  that  he  is  manifestly  the  real  anti- 
christ." He  could  say  no  more.  The  inquisitors  gave  the  signal 
to  the  executioner,  who,  raising  him  from  the  ground,  put  an  end 
to  his  life  by  strangulation.  His  body  was  thrown  on  the  funeral 
pile  and  soon  reduced  to  ashes.  "  The  pope,"  says  an  historian, 
"  must  have  wished  himself  elsewhere,  or  that  Pascal  had  been 
dumb,  or  the  people  deaf;  for  he  said  many  things  against  the 
pope,  according  to  the  word  of  God,  which  displeased  him  ex- 
ceedingly. Thus  this  man  died,  calling  on  God  with  so  ardent 
a  zeal  that  he  deeply  moved  the  assistants  at  his  execution,  and 
made  the  pope  and  his  cardinals  gnash  their  teeth." — Crespin, 
Hist,  des  Martyrs,  fol.  520. — Perrin,  Hist,  des  Vaudois  et  des  Al- 
bigeois,  p.  207. 

The  Vaudois  Churches  of  Apulia  and  some  other  provinces  of 
Naples,  not  having  displayed  any  extraordinary  zeal,  escaped  the 
suspicious  notice  of  Rome.  Those  of  their  members  who  had 
real  piety,  were  not  slow  in  disposing  of  their  property  and  taking 
refuge  in  a  safe  place.     .VI  the  rest  bent  their  heads  before  the 


198  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

storm,  and  abandoned  the  profession  of  the  gospel.  At  the  pre- 
sent day,  we  should  seek  in  vain,  in  these  countries,  for  vestiges 
of  the  once  flourishing  Vaudois  colonies. 




CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   BENEFITS   OF  THE  PEACE    ATTENDED   WITH    GREAT   EVILS. 

The  peace  signed  at  Cavor,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1561,  by  Philip 
of  Savoy,  and  the  deputies  of  the  valleys,  had  dissipated  man  v 
fears,  and  restored  tranquillity  to  a  desolated  country.  The 
hearts  of  mothers  no  longer  failed  them  at  the  very  name  of  sol- 
diers, and  the  prospect  of  hateful  and  agonizing  scenes  no  longer 
drew  their  restless  and  stealthy  glances  to  their  offspring.  The 
aged  people  were  once  more  led,  with  slow  and  feeble  steps,  from 
their  hiding-places  in  the  mountains.  The  joy  of  returning  to 
the  places  where  they  had  passed  their  infancy,  under  the  vines 
on  the  hill-side,  or  the  shade  of  the  chestnut-trees,  brought  smiles 
on  their  faces  again.  Sons  and  fathers  hung  up  their  weapons, 
and  their  warlike  hands  once  more  took  the  spade  and  sickle  for 
their  peaceful  occupations.  But  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  though 
it  had  allayed  many  fears,  had  not  healed  all  their  wounds ;  some 
were  too  deep.  The  distress  most  generally  felt,  was  increasing 
want.  Seven  months  of  unsparing  warfare  on  the  part  of  the 
papists  had  impoverished  every  family.  Whole  villages  and 
countless  hamlets  had  been  consumed  by  the  flames,  and  were 
only  a  heap  of  ruins.  They  had  to  be  rebuilt,  but  everything 
was  wanting.  The  provisions  of  the  preceding  year  had  come 
to  an  end.  The  time  for  sowing  corn  was  past.  The  harvest 
approached,  but  there  was  hardly  anything  to  reap,  for  only  the 
heights  had  been  cultivated,  and  the  best  lands  had  been  left 
fallow.  To  this  destitution  was  added  the  difficulty  of  providing 
for  the  maintenance  and  establishment  of  the  Calabrian  fugitives, 
who  came  to  the  valleys  stripped  of  everything. 

In  this  state  of  things,  and  by  the  advice  of  the  church  of 
Geneva,  the  churches  of  the  valleys  had  recourse  to  the  charity 
of  their  brethren  in  Switzerland  and  Germany.  John  Calvin 
exerted  himself  for  them  with  great  zeal.  Their  deputies  were 
everywhere  received  with  interest,  and  had  the  consolation  of 


UNJUST  ORDER.  199 

collecting  sums  adequate  to  relieve  their  most  pressing  necessi- 
ties. The  Elector  Palatine  made  the  largest  donation.  Next 
to  him  may  be  mentioned  the  Duke  of  Wurtemburg,  the  Mar- 
quis of  Baden,  the  evangelical  cantons,  with  Berne  at  their  head, 
the  Church  of  Strasburg,  and  a  great  number  of  others,  among 
which  the  churches  of  Provence  may  be  specially  noticed. 
France  would  have  sent  much  more,  if  the  collections  made  in 
different  places  had  not  been  checked  by  internal  troubles. 

In  addition  to  the  daily  trials  caused  by  their  actual  indigence, 
they  had  to  endure  various  annoyances  from  the  priests  and 
monks.  They  provoked  the  pastors  to  disputes  on  religion.  An 
exchange  of  letters  took  place,  and  became  a  pretext  for  violent 
measures.  The  Yaudois  were  accused  of  fomenting  discord,  and 
the  civil  authorities,  deceived  by  false  reports,  published  on  the 
6th  of  May,  1563,  a  mandate  prohibiting  the  Catholics  from  hold- 
ing any  relation  or  intercourse  with  the  heretics.  But  as  this 
vexatious  measure  occasioned  inconvenience  to  the  papists — as 
much  to  the  monks  themselves  as  to  the  poor  Vaudois — the  gen- 
try of  the  country  and  neighbourhood  appealed  to  the  duke  and 
procured  a  modification  of  the  decree.*  On  the  market-day, 
July  9th,  it  was  announced  at  Lucerna  that  his  highness  did  not 
mean  that  commercial  dealings  should  cease  between  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  two  religions,  but  only  that  they  should  abstain 
from  controversy. 

The  enemies  of  the  Vaudois  were  not  willing  to  consider 
themselves  defeated.  Pretending  that  the  treaty  of  peace  had 
not  been  exactly  observed  in  all  points  by  the  people  of  the  val- 
leys, they  endeavoured  to  foment  intrigues  against  them  at  court, 
and  to  impose  upon  the  duke  by  false  reports.  On  the  faith  of 
their  calumnious  representations,  the  government  thought  of  re- 
stricting the  liberties  of  the  Vaudois  by  severe  measures,  and, 
for  the  execution  of  its  designs,  chose  Sebastian  Gratiol,  of  Cas  • 
trocaro,  a  Tuscan  by  birth,  a  man  worthy  of  such  a  charge.  He 
had  served  against  the  Vaudois  as  colonel  of  the  militia,  in  the 
last  persecution,  under  the  Count  de  la  Trinite.  Having  been 
taken  prisoner  in  one  encounter,  he  had  been  honourably 
treated  and  released  out  of  respect  to  the  duchess,  to  whose 

*  In  fact,  by  this  measure,  the  markets  of  many  small  towns  on  the  frontiers, 
and  even  in  Pinerolo,  found  themselves  deprived  of  a  proper  supply  of  pro- 
visions, etc. 


200  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

retinue  he  pretended  to  belong.  Being  deeply  mortified  at 
finding  himself  in  the  hands  of  these  rustic  mountaineers,  and  at 
owing  his  liberty  to  their  generosity,  he  thought  himself  fitted  to 
act  the  part  of  an  oppressor,  and  succeeded  in  getting  himself 
appointed,  first  of  all,  commissioner  of  the  duke  in  the  valleys, 
and  soon  after  governor  of  the  same.  Two  contrary  influences 
contributed  to  his  elevation :  the  support  of  the  archbishop  of 
Turin,  to  whom  he  had  promised  to  do  everything  for  the  con- 
version of  the  Vaudois  to  popery ;  and  the  recommendation  of 
the  pious  princess,  the  protectress  of  the  valleys,  to  whom  he 
managed  to  recommend  himself,  and  whose  vigilance  he  de- 
ceived by  false  representations. 

The  first  words  of  Castrocaro  on  his  arrival  in  the  valley 
of  Lucerna,  in  the  spring  of  1565,  were  threatening.  The  duke, 
he  said,  retracted  the  concessions  which  he  had  made  in  the 
treaty  of  peace.  But  the  churches  having  appealed  to  his  high- 
ness, the  commissioner  modified  his  language,  and  only  insisted 
on  the  immediate  signature  of  an  engagement,  drawn  up  by 
himself,  which  tended  considerably  to  restrict  the  liberties  of  the 
churches,  and  of  private  persons.  In  case  of  refusal,  the  cavalry 
were  immediately  to  enter  the  valleys,  and  renew  the  war. 

In  so  critical  a  position,  the  churches  conducted  themselves 
with  wisdom,  combining  prudence  with  firmness  in  their  an- 
swers, and  a  respectful  tone  with  sound  arguments.  The  latter, 
however,  would,  according  to  all  appearance,  have  had  little 
weight,  if  the  excellent  princess,  whom  God  had  placed  near 
the  duke  as  their  safeguard,  had  not  again  interceded  in  their 
favour.  Yet  the  answer  in  which  she  acquaints  the  churches 
with  the  success  of  her  intervention,  and  the  abandonment  of 
the  demands  which  had  so  greatly  disquieted  them,  indicates  too 
great  confidence  in  the  crafty  individual  who  was  imposed  on 
the  valleys  as  governor. 

Castrocaro  being  established  with  a  strong  garrison  in  the 
castle  of  La  Torre,  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  only  kept  too  well 
the  promises  he  had  made  to  the  archbishop.  He  ordered  the 
pastor  of  San  Giovanni  to  refuse  the  holy  supper  to  many  who 
came  from  lower  Piedmont  and  applied  for  it.  He  required  the 
church  at  Bobbio  to  dismiss  their  pastor,  on  the  pretext  that  he 
was  a  foreigner.  Then,  on  the  refusal  of  its  noble-hearted  mem- 
bers, he   pronounced   their  sequestration,  and  forbade  every 


PRINCES  OF  THE  PALATINATE  AND  SAXONY.     201 

person  under  his  jurisdiction  from  having  the  least  connexion  or 
intercourse  with  them.  He  imprisoned,  fined,  or  ill-treated  in 
some  other  way,  all  who  did  not  comply  with  the  slightest  inti- 
mation of  his  wishes.  He  vexed  the  pastors :  one  of  the  most 
respectable,  Gilles,  on  his  return  from  Geneva  through  Dau- 
phine',  was  arrested  as  a  conspirator  by  the  soldiers  of  the 
governor,  thrown  into  a  dungeon,  loaded  with  irons,  and  then 
conducted  to  Turin  by  the  archers  and  a  detachment  of  cavalry. 

Intolerance  and  religious  oppression  were  felt  not  only  in  the 
valleys  of  Lucerna,  Angrogna,  and  San  Martino,  (the  greater 
part  of  the  valley  of  Perosa  on  the  left  side  was  then  subject  to 
France,)  but  in  all  the  towns  of  Piedmont  where  the  reformed 
were  to  be  found.  An  edict,  published  the  10th  of  June,  1565, 
enjoined  them  to  attend  mass,  or  to  leave  the  dominions  of  his 
highness  within  two  months.  "  The  duke  no  longer  wishes  to 
allow  two  religions  in  his  country,"  was  the  chancellor's  answer 
to  some  reformed  members  of  the  noble  family  of  Solari.  In 
fact,  a  great  number  of  them  had  to  choose  between  exile  and  a 
prison. 

The  hearing  and  sight  of  so  many  grievances,  and  especially 
the  dread  of  still  greater,  dictated  an  extreme  measure  to  some 
of  the  Vaudois  and  their  friends ;  they  implored  the  intercession 
of  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany,  and  especially  of  the 
electors  of  the  Palatinate  and  Saxony,  with  the  duke.  These 
generous  defenders  of  the  faith  sent  as  an  ambassador  for  this 
purpose,  to  his  highness  of  Savoy,  John  Junius,  councillor  of 
state  of  the  Elector  Palatine,  and  a  man  of  piety,  and  experi- 
enced in  business.  He  arrived  at  Turin  in  February,  1566. 
A  strange  proceeding,  and  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations,  soon 
taught  him  the  zeal,  or  rather  madness,  which  operated  against 
those  who  were  not  papists.  Barberi,  the  fiscal  general,  no 
sooner  heard  that  the  secretary  of  the  embassy,  David  Chaillet, 
was  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  than  he  proceeded  to  put  him  under 
arrest  in  his  hotel.  It  is  right  to  say  that  the  councillor  Junius, 
having  immediately  complained  of  this  gross  infraction  of  the 
law  of  nations,  and  demanding  reparation  for  the  insult  com- 
mitted against  his  prince  in  the  person  of  one  of  the  members 
of  his  embassy,  obtained  his  immediate  liberation,  and  the  arrest 
of  Barberi.  But  this  unheard-of  act  served  as  the  basis  and 
argument  of  the  remonstrances  which  the  delegate  of  the  Pro- 


202  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

testant  courts  of  Germany  made  on  the  part  of  his  masters  to 
the  court  of  Savoy,  on  the  subject  of  the  persecutions  against 
the  Vaudois,  and  the  reformed  in  general.  The  government 
of  Turin  was  not  pleased  with  these  officious  interventions. 
Nevertheless,  the  duke  promised  some  relaxation  in  the  measures 
taken  against  the  reformed  in  Piedmont,  and  throughout  his 
dominions  in  general.  He  also  assured  the  ambassador,  that  the 
conditions  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  made  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  valleys,  should  be  strictly  observed.  The  immediate  result 
was  the  liberation  of  some  prisoners — of  the  respectable  minister 
Gilles  in  particular — to  the  great  joy  of  the  members  of  his 
church,  his  colleagues,  and  all  the  people. 

How  little  dependence  could  be  placed  on  the  promises  of  the 
court  of  Turin  to  the  Protestant  ambassador  appeared  soon  after 
his  departure.  He  had  scarcely  cleared  the  frontier,  when 
Castrocaro  issued  two  ordinances  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  one 
of  which  enjoined  on  every  inhabitant,  or  native  of  any  place 
not  under  his  government,  to  leave  the  country  on  the  morrow, 
under  pain  of  death  and  the  confiscation  of  his  property.  The 
other  ordinance  prohibited  the  reformed  of  Lucerna,  Bibbiana, 
Campiglione,  and  Fenile,  from  coming  to  the  preaching  at  San 
Giovanni,  under  the  same  penalties.  The  castle  of  La  Torre 
was  soon  crowded  with  prisoners,  who  could  never  deem  it  their 
duty  to  obey  such  orders.  A  deputation  to  the  court,  and  the 
intercession  of  the  good  duchess,  once  more  diverted  the  storm. 
The  dungeons  were  opened,  the  accused  returned  in  peace  to 
their  habitations,  and  the  ordinances  fell  into  oblivion.* 

Castrocaro  would  not  suffer  himself  to  be  stopped  by  the  ob- 
stacles opposed  to  his  zeal  in  high  quarters.  He  did  not  the  less 
pursue  the  course  of  his  oppressive  attempts,  conformably  to  his 
secret  engagements.  He  had  already  endeavoured,  but,  thanks 
to  the  intervention  of  the  duchess,  without  success,  to  restrain  a 
custom  established  from  time  immemorial,  that  of  synodical  meet- 
ings of  the  pastors  and  deputies  of  the  parishes  of  all  the  Vaudois 
churches,  both  those  of  the  Piedmontcse  valleys,  and  those  of 
Dauphine  and  other  places.f     Not  being  able  to  prevent  the  sy- 

*  Under  Castrocaro's  administration  the  fortress  of  Mirebouc  was  erected,  at 
the  bottom  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  in  the  commune  of  Bobbio,  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  France,  at  the  foot  of  the  Col  de  la  Croix. 

t  The  marquisate  of  Saluzzo,  for  example. — A  general  Vaudois  synod,  like 
those  to  which  we  have  alluded,  was  held  at  the  end  of  May,  1567,  at  Villaret, 


PRINCES  OF   THE  PALATINATE  AND  SAXONY.       203 

nods,  he  attempted  to  alter  their  character,  and  to  cramp  the  liber- 
ty of  the  members,  as  well  as  the  discussions  and  votes,  by  being 
there  in  person.  His  presence  in  the  synod  of  Bobbio  was  pro- 
tested against,  but  in  vain ;  Castrocaro  remained  in  the  assembly. 

The  persecution  was  also  renewed  against  the  reformed  in 
lower  Piedmont,  Barcelonetta,  and  other  places.  It  became,  in- 
deed, so  violent,  that  a  great  number  of  these  poor  people  took 
refuge  for  a  time  at  Vars,  Guillestre,  Fraissiniere,  and  the  other 
valleys  of  the  Upper  Dauphine. 

The  news  of  these  proceedings,  so  little  in  conformity  with 
the  promises  made  to  councillor  Junius,  was  brought  to  the  prin- 
ces who  had  sent  him  as  ambassador  to  Turin,  and  excited  their 
strong  displeasure.  The  Elector  Palatine  complained  to  the  duke 
of  Savoy.  The  historian  Gilles  has  preserved  the  remarkable 
letter  which  that  prince  wrote  on  this  occasion ;  it  is  as  remarka- 
ble for  the  elevation  of  its  views,  as  for  the  nobleness  and  purity 
of  its  sentiments.  It  is  a  glowing  defence  of  liberty  of  conscience ; 
an  eloquent  pleading  in  favour  of  toleration :  and,  at  the  same 
time,  an  act  of  homage  to  the  Christian  faith,  an  appeal  to  the 
conscience  and  justice  of  the  duke,  and  a  serious  warning  of  the 
judgment  to  come.  "  Let  your  highness,"  it  is  there  said,  "  know 
that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  who  not  only  contemplates  the 
actions,  but  also  tries  the  hearts  and  reins  of  men,  and  from  whom 
nothing  is  hid.  Let  your  highness  take  care  not  voluntarily  to 
make  war  upon  God,  and  not  to  persecute  Christ  in  his  members ; 
for  if  he  permit  this  for  a  time,  in  order  to  exercise  the  patience 
of  his  people,  he  will,  nevertheless,  at  last  chastise  the  persecutors 
by  horrible  punishments.  Let  not  your  highness  allow  yourself 
to  be  misled  by  the  seducing  discourses  of  the  papists,  who,  per- 
haps, will  promise  you  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  eternal  life, 
provided  that,  by  some  means  or  pretext,  you  banish,  imprison, 
and  at  last  exterminate  these  Huguenots,  as  they  now  call  good 
Christians ;  for  assuredly  no  one  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven by  cruelty,  inhumanity,  and  calumny.  Another  way  must 
be  followed  in  order  to  enter  in.  .  .  .  Persecution,  moreover, 
will  never  advance  the  cause  it  pretends  to  defend.     So  far  have 

in  the  vale  of  Clusone  or  Pragela,  in  Dauphine,  to  adopt  resolutions  and  mea- 
sures of  safety,  occasioned  by  the  fear  of  the  passage,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  val- 
leys, of  the  army  of  the  duke  of  Alva,  in  its  march  to  Flanders.— See  Gilles. 
ch.  xxxv,  p.  238 


204  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

those  who  have  afflicted  Christians,  who  have  tormented  and 
exiled  them,  or  taken  away  their  lives,  been  from  annihilating 
them,  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  have  increased  their  numbers ; 
so  that  the  adage  has  been  constantly  verified — The  ashes  of  the 
martyrs  are  the  seed  of  the  Christian  church.  For  the  church 
resembles  the  palm-tree,  which  rises  higher  the  more  it  is  confined. 
Let  your  highness  consider  that  the  Christian  religion  was  es- 
tablished by  persuasion  and  not  by  violence ;  and  as  it  is  certain 
that  religion  is  nothing  else  than  a  firm  and  enlightened  persua- 
sion of  God,  and  of  his  will,  as  revealed  in  his  word  and  engraven 
in  the  hearts  of  believers  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  cannot,  when 
once  rooted,  be  torn  away  by  tortures ;  for  believers  will  rather 
endure  any  punishment  and  suffering  whatever,  than  do  anything 
which  in  their  esteem  is  contrary  to  piety." 

We  do  not  know  what  was  the  moral  effect  of  this  letter  on 
the  duke's  mind.  Possibly  it  contributed,  in  some  degree,  to  a 
more  moderate  system  which  prevailed  in  the  government  of 
the  valleys,  during  a  series  of  years,  even  when  the  king  of  France 
had  given  the  signal  and  example  of  persecution  to  the  utmost, 
in  causing  the  blood  of  his  Protestant  subjects  to  flow  like  a  river 
on  the  evening  of  St.  Bartholomew. 

The  Vaudois  churches  in  the  marquisate  of  Saluzzo,  to  the 
south  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  on  the  banks  and  near  the  sources 
of  the  Po,  had  shared  the  fate  of  the  territory,  and  had  been  for 
many  years  under  the  dominion  of  France.  Owing  to  the  ar- 
rangements of  every  kind,  which  the  interests  of  the  French  po- 
licy prescribed,  in  the  administration  of  a  country  of  foreign  man- 
ners and  language,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps,  the  Reformation, 
or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  the  Vaudois  Church,  made  rapid  pro- 
gress there.  Congregations,  or  churches,  more  or  less  numerous, 
had  been  formed  in  most  of  the  cities  of  the  marquisate,  and  in 
a  great  number  of  villages.  Active  and  devoted  pastors  visited 
frequently  and  in  rotation  those  places  where  they  did  not  reside. 
They  amounted,  in  1567,  to  nine.  For  the  safety  of  their  per- 
sons they  were  generally  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  precaution- 
ary measures  in  their  journey  for  evangelizing,  and  in  their  meet- 
ings. The  churches  retired  in  the  mountains,  as  that  of  Aceil, 
enjoyed  more  liberty.  At  Pravilhelm  particularly,  an  ancient 
and  venerable  stock  of  the  Vaudois  Church  in  those  parts,*  the 
*  See,  on  this  subject,  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  chapter. 


MARQUISATE  OF  SALUZZO.         205 

preaching  of  the  word  and  the  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments were  openly  performed,  and  with  full  security.  Accord- 
ingly, people  resorted  thither  from  all  quarters  for  this  purpose. 
But  ordinarily,  in  all  other  places,  the  religious  services  were 
performed  in  private  houses  and  small  assemblies. 

The  Romish  clergy  were  irritated  at  the  progress  of  the  Refor- 
mation ;  but  being  restrained,  in  the  overflowings  of  their  jea- 
lousy, by  the  royal  intention  of  not  disturbing  the  peaceable  and 
prudent  members  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  exercise  of 
their  worship,  they  had  recourse  to  a  dexterous  method  of  weaken- 
ing them.  Knowing  that  the  greater  number  of  the  pastors 
were  not  natives  of  the  king's  dominions,  they  sought  and  ob- 
tained from  the  Duke  de  Nevers,  the  governor,  an  edict,  dated 
the  1 9th  of  October,  15G7,  ordering  all  those  of  the  reformed  re- 
ligion, living  in  the  country,  but  not  subjects  of  the  king,  to  leave 
it,  both  themselves  and  their  families,  in  three  days,  under  pain 
of  death  and  the  confiscation  of  their  property.  The  measure 
did  not  attain  the  end  proposed ;  the  pastors,  faithful  to  their  duty, 
continued  their  evangelical  labours  in  secret.  Two  of  them,  it 
is  true,  having  been  discovered,  were  cast  into  prison,  where 
they  remained  more  than  four  years  ;  after  which,  on  the  urgent 
remonstrances  made  at  court  by  the  minister  Galatee,  and  in  the 
name  of  the  churches  of  the  marquisate,  they  were  set  at 
liberty. 

The  year  1572  was  now  arrived.  If  we  except  some  arbitrary 
and  rigorous  acts,  occurring  from  time  to  time,  as  well  as  an  ha- 
bitual restraint  and  inspection,  the  Vaudois  and  reformed 
churches,  as  well  in  the  marquisate  as  of  the  valleys,  and  of  Pied- 
mont properly  so  called,  enjoyed  some  degree  of  tranquillity. 
The  news  of  the  approaching  marriage  of  the  sister  of  the  king 
of  France  with  the  young  king  of  Navarre,  who  was  at  the  head 
of  the  Protestant  party  in  France,  seemed  to  indicate  a  recon- 
ciliation in  the  minds  of  the  two  great  parties,  and  to  be  the  omen 
of  a  better  future ;  when,  all  at  once,  at  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember, the  report  of  the  horrible  massacres  committed  over  the 
whole  extent  of  that  kingdom  passed  over  the  mountains  with 
the  rapidity  of  the  wind,  and  filled  the  hearts  of  all  the  reformed 
with  anguish  and  terror.  All  the  pei-sons  of  greatest  note  and 
influence  in  the  ranks  of  their  brethren  had  been  perfidiously 
murdered,  most  of  them  in  their  beds,  on  that  detestable  night 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

of  St.  Bartholomew.  The  butchery  was  continued  on  the  follow- 
ing days.* 

The  lieutenant-governor  of  the  king's  domains  in  Piedmont, 
Louis  de  Birague,  had  also  received  orders  to  put  to  death  the 
principal  members  of  the  reformed  church  in  his  government ; 
but  it  was  decided  to  put  off  their  execution,  owing,  we  are  hap- 
py to  believe,  to  the  judicious  and  charitable  suggestions  of  the 
archdeacon  of  Saluzzo.  This  ecclesiastic  had  pointed  out  the 
complete  disagreement  between  these  last  cruel  orders  and  the 
preceding  ones,  which  enjoined  the  release  of  the  two  ministers, 
and  a  tolerant  and  mild  mode  of  dealing  with  the  reformed.  He 
had,  therefore,  proposed  to  proceed  no  further  than  arresting  the 
principal  persons,  saying,  that  they  could  be  executed  at  any 
time  afterwards,  if  his  majesty  required  it.  This  prudent  and 
humane  advice  was  adopted ;  but  on  the  first  arrests,  the  greater 
part  of  the  suspected  persons  withdrew  and  retired  to  some  place 
of  safety.  A  royal  message,  enjoining  the  authorities  to  put  a 
stop  to  every  execution,  if  it  were  not  too  late,  and  to  adhere  to 
the  preceding  ordinances  relating  to  the  reformed,  arrived  a 
few  days  after,  and  put  things  on  the  same  footing  as  before. 

The  news  of  the  enormities  of  Saint  Bartholomew  was  no 
sooner  known  in  Piedmont  (subject  to  the  duke  of  Savoy)  than 
the  zealous  papists  made  great  demonstrations  of  joy,  and  taunted 
the  reformed,  telling  them  that  their  God  was  no  more,  and  their 
ruin  was  at  hand.  The  language  of  Castrocaro,  the  governor  of 
the  valleys,  caused  the  people  great  anxiety.  They  accordingly 
lost  no  time  in  removing  their  families  and  most  valuable  effects 
to  their  accustomed  hiding-places  in  the  mountains.  The  men 
alone  remained  on  the  watch  in  their  homes,  their  hearts  op- 
pressed, and  finding  repose  only  in  prayer ;  but  the  duke,  who 
appeared  not  to  approve  of  the  system  of  assassination  by  which 
Prance  was  sullied,  no  sooner  became  aware  of  the  distrust  of 
the  Vaudois,  than  he  assured  them  of  his  pacific  disposition,  and 
invited  them  to  return  to  their  dwellings  and  resume  their  occu- 
pations, which  they  did. 

At  this  juncture,  the  governor  of  the  French  territory  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Alps,  Louis  de  Birague,  attempted  to  deprive 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Vaudois  valley  of  Perosa  (which  came 

*  It  is  believed  that  more  thau  a  hundred  thousand  Huguenots  (the  name 
given  in  France  to  the  Reformed)  were  massacred  on  that  occasion. 


INCREASED  OPPRESSION.  207 

under  the  dominion  of  France  in  1562)  of  the  public  exercise 
of  their  religion.  The  churches  remonstrated,  supporting  them- 
selves on  the  fact  that  the  king,  on  their  annexation  to  France, 
had  recognized  their  privileges  and  liberties,  both  ecclesiastical 
and  political,  and  guaranteed  their  exercise.  Not  being  able  to 
persuade  them  to  yield,  Birague  had  recourse  to  force;  yet 
fearing  lest  the  Vaudois  valleys,  which  still  remained  under  the 
house  of  Savoy,  should  succour  their  brethren  in  distress,  he  ob- 
tained an  injunction  from  the  duke  against  their  interference. 
But  while  the  brave  Vaudois,  faithful  to  their  traditions,  and  the 
examples  they  had  so  often  given,  expressed  in  their  reply  their 
settled  intention  to  respect  their  sovereign's  will  in  all  that  re- 
garded his  interest  and  his  glory,  they  showed  themselves  not 
less  decided  to  serve  God  invariably,  and  to  maintain  by  every 
means  in  their  power  the  religion  that  was  menaced  in  the 
rights  and  persons  of  their  brethren  of  the  valley  of  Perosa. 
The  new  governor  for  the  king  of  France,  Charles  de  Birague, 
immediately  renouncing  the  measures  of  persuasion  which  his 
deceased  brother  had  attempted,  assembled  his  troops,  and  in 
July,  1573,  made  an  attack  on  the  village  of  Saint-Germain. 
Five  poor  villagers  were  immediately  taken  prisoners,  and  con- 
ducted to  Pinerolo.  Some  days  after,  they  were  condemned  to 
be  led  back  to  their  own  neighbourhood,  and  there  to  be  hung. 
The  very  day  on  which  these  five  men  were  seized,  the  people 
of  Angrogna,  led  on  by  the  valiant  Pietro  Fraschi,  rushed  from 
their  heights  into  the  plain  to  succour  their  brethren,  and,  having 
joined  them,  repulsed  the  enemy.  In  the  course  of  the  follow- 
ing day,  the  Vaudois  forces  were  so  increased  by  the  quotas  of 
all  the  communes  of  the  valleys,  that  they  were  able  to  make 
head  against  the  two  French  divisions  from  Perosa  and  Pinerolo, 
which  assailed  them  at  the  same  time.  After  upwards  of  a 
month  had  been  spent  in  ineffectual  attacks  and  a  valiant  de- 
fence, peace  was  longed  for  as  much  in  one  camp  as  the  other, 
and  accordingly  the  terms  were  easily  settled.  To  satisfy  the 
claims  of  propriety,  or  rather  to  save  appearances,  it  was  agreed 
that  the.  Vaudois  of  the  valley  of  Perosa  should  present  a  petition 
to  obtain  peace,  and  the  exercise  of  the  religion  which  their 
fathers,  as  they  expressed  it,  had  followed  from  time  immemorial. 
They  engaged  also  to  suspend  their  public  worship  for  a  month, 
and.  what  was  more  serious,  though  not  irremediable,  to  dismiss 


208  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

their  pastor,  Guerin.*  On  these  conditions,  the  Vaudois  of  the 
valley  of  Perosa  obtained  the  preservation  and  guarantee  of  their 
customs,  and  particularly  of  the  treaty  made  between  the  duke 
of  Savoy,  their  ancient  lord,  and  the  Vaudois  valleys,  of  which 
they  formed  a  part.  In  this  manner  terminated,  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  parties,  the  conflict  called  the  war  of  La  Eadde,  from 
the  name  of  the  officer  who  commanded  the  French  troops. 

During  these  troubles,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  disturbed  dis- 
tricts, the  Vaudois  Church,  by  the  zeal  of  this  same  pastor 
Guerin,  whom  his  people  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  peace,  had 
obtained  a  remarkable  moral  success,  which  was,  without  doubt, 
the  cause  of  his  removal. 

Pramol,  the  different  hamlets  of  which  occupy  the  centre  of  a 
solitary  valley  to  the  north-west  of  Saint-Germain,  between  the 
Sea,  or  ridge,  of  Angrogna,  towards  the  south,  and  the  last  rami- 
fications of  the  mountains  of  the  valley  of  San  Martino  to  the 
noi'th — Pramol  had  hitherto  contained  within  its  precincts  some 
papists  and  a  parish  priest ;  but  Guerin  having  gone  thither  one 
Sunday  to  celebrate  divine  service,  addressed  the  priest  who 
had  just  finished  the  mass,  and  asked  him  if  he  had  the  courage 
to  maintain  that  the  Mass  he  had  chanted  was  good  ?  The  poor 
man  appearing  greatly  embarrassed  at  this  appeal,  Guerin,  who 
did  not  wish  to  be  thought  that  he  would  take  advantage  of  an 
adversary  unprepared  and  surprised,  left  him,  saying  that  on  the 
following  Sunday  he  would  demonstrate  by  the  word  of  God, 
and  even  by  the  missal  he  made  use  of  in  chanting  the  Mass, 
that  it  was  full  of  errors.  On  the  following  Sunday,  when  the 
minister  came  to  Pramol,  he  found  neither  priest  nor  Mass.  The 
pope's  servant  had  fled  from  the  combat.  Guerin,  in  a  conver- 
sation with  the  forsaken  flock,  urged  them  to  admit  light  into 
their  consciences,  and  offered  to  be  their  guide  in  the  study  of 
the  word  of  salvation.  These  men,  already  half  persuaded,  re- 
sorted assiduously  to  his  house  at  La  Balma,  between  Pramol 
and  Saint-Germain,  and  in  a  little  time  all  declared  themselves 
for  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  evangelical  popu- 
lation being  considerably  increased  by  this  conversion  of  the 
papists  of  the  valley,  Pramol  was  from  that  time  formed  into  a 
parish,  and  provided  with  a  special  pastor. 

*  Guerin,  nevertheless,  was  not  lost  to  the  valleys  ;  he  only  took  charge  of 
another  parish. 


DEATH  OF  THE  DUCHESS  MARGARET.      209 

On  the  occasion  of  the  troubles  of  Perosa,  and  the  succour 
which  the  Vaudois  of  the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  Angrogna,  and  San 
Martino,  had  brought  to  their  brethren  in  distress,  Castrocaro 
renewed  his  measures  of  severity ;  but  the  favour  of  the  duchess 
caused  them  to  be  revoked,  or  at  least  weakened  their  effect. 
This  was  the  last  time  that  Margaret  of  France,  duchess  of  Savoy, 
gave  to  the  despised  and  oppressed  Vaudois  a  signal  proof  of  her 
benevolent  regard.  This  enlightened  and  compassionate  princess 
dared  to  undertake  and  maintain  the  arduous  office  of  a  mediator 
till  her  death,  which  took  place  the  19th  of  October,  1574.  It 
was  no  doubt  to  her,  under  God,  that  the  Vaudois  owed  the 
comparatively  mild  conditions  which  were  granted  them  during 
the  stormy  period,  marked  by  the  persecution  and  death  of  so 
many  of  their  reformed  brethren  in  France,  Spain,  Italy,  and 
elsewhere.  After  the  death  of  the  duchess,  Castrocaro's  credit 
diminished  rapidly  at  court ;  for  every  one  knew  that,  though 
she  had  sought  to  temper  his  zeal  against  the  Vaudois,  yet  it 
was  to  her  that  he  was  indebted  for  his  nomination,  and  for  re- 
taining the  government.  Expressions  of  discontent  were  heard 
in  every  quarter.  The  lords  of  the  valleys,  who  had  seen  with 
so  much  regret  their  authority  weakened,  and  their  position 
lowered  by  his  elevation,  plotted  against  him.  An  occasion  of 
preferring  an  accusation  soon  offered  itself.  An  officer  of 
Castrocaro,  at  the  head  of  a  troop  of  soldiers,  assassinated,  it  was 
said,  by  his  orders,  a  Captain  Malherbe,  who  had  always  shown 
a  coolness  towards  the  governor,  and,  on  the  contrary,  a  strong 
attachment  to  the  gentry  in  the  valley.  Although  a  Vaudois, 
Captain  Malherbe  was  always  esteemed  by  the  duke  for  his 
valour.  The  relations  of  the  deceased  having  made  a  complaint, 
and  the  lords  seconding  it  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  the  cause 
of  Castrocaro  took  an  unhappy  turn  for  him.  He  strove  for 
some  time,  it  is  true,  against  his  adversaries,  among  whom  he 
counted  the  archbishop  of  Turin,  who  was  irritated  because,  in 
spite  of  his  secret  promises,  he  had  not  reduced  even  a  single 
Vaudois  commune  to  embrace  popery,  nor  deprived  the  Vaudois 
of  any  of  their  rights.  It  was  in  vain  that,  in  order  to  regain 
the  prelate's  good  graces,  he  attempted  to  re-establish  tithes  in 
favour  of  certain  priests,  and  dexterously  to  support  the  Jesuit 
Vanini,  who  was  too  feeble,  notwithstanding  his  presumption,  to 
contend  in  public  with  the  pastors ;  it  was  in  vain  that,  to  render 


*210  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

himself  of  importance,  he  sanctioned  unfavourable  rumours,  and 
sowed  disquiet  among  the  Vaudois,  that  he  might  blacken  them 
in  his  reports :  the  fall  of  this  clever  adventurer  was  resolved 
upon. 

A  new  prince  had  taken  the  direction  of  affairs;  Charles 
Emmanuel,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  succeeded  his  father,  Em- 
manuel Philibert,  who  died  the  30th  of  August,  1580.  Having 
no  reason  for  upholding  a  man  who  was  justly  accused  of  mal- 
versation, the  abuse  of  power,  rapine,  and  even  of  murder,  as 
much  by  those  he  governed  as  by  his  equals,  the  young  duke 
consented  to  his  arrest,  and  intrusted  it  to  the  Count  of  Lucerna, 
whom  he  nominated  governor  in  his  stead.  Castrocaro  ended 
his  days  in  prison. 

About  this  time,  and  for  a  series  of  years,  the  Vaudois 
churches  of  Dauphine,  situated  to  the  west  and  north  of  the 
Piedmontese  valleys,  in  those,  namely,  of  Queiras,  Chateau- 
Dauphin,  Cesane,  Oulx,  and  others  besides,  were  often  assailed, 
and  so  ill-treated  by  the  papists,  that,  in  some  places,  they  could 
only  assemble  by  night  to  attend  to  religious  worship ;  and  when 
these  churches,  aspiring  to  the  measure  of  liberty  then  general 
in  France,  endeavoured  to  shake  off  the  tyranny  of  their  Roman 
Catholic  neighbours,  violent  means  were  employed  for  their  de- 
struction, and  with  so  much  the  greater  alacrity,  as  the  position 
of  their  elevated  and  retired  valleys  rendered  it  impossible  to 
obtain  the  help  of  their  distant  brethren.  The  aid  of  their  allies 
and  co-religionists  of  the  Piedmontese  valleys  was  not  however 
wanting,  and  often  extricated  them  from  the  greatest  difficulties. 
But  perhaps  the  zeal  with  which  they  hastened  to  succour  their 
brethren  in  distress  degenerated  sometimes  into  a  passion  for 
war ;  but  we  shall  not  follow  the  valiant  Captain  Fraschi  and 
his  companions  in  the  contests  they  maintained  together  with 
and  for  their  brethren  of  Dauphine ;  for,  after  much  blood  had 
been  spilt  on  both  sides,  in  various  encounters,  things  assumed 
the  position  which  they  had  before. 

In  1592,  the  Vaudois  valleys,  which  had  enjoyed  a  consider- 
able share  of  tranquillity  for  some  years,  were  suddenly  occupied, 
as  well  as  a  part  of  the  plain,  by  a  French  army,  under  the 
orders  of  the  Sire  de  Lesdiguieres,  an  able  and  courageous 
general,  who  had  lately  taken  Upper  Dauphine  from  the  leaguers, 
or  Catholic  party.    During  their  occupation,  this  general  fortified 


FRENCH  DOMINION  IN  THE   VALLEYS.  211 

Bricherasco,  at  the  entry  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  re-established 
the  castle  in  the  latter  place,  and  pulled  down  those  of  La  Torre 
and  Perosa.  The  gentry  and  inhabitants  of  the  valleys  were 
forced  to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  king  of  France.  They 
did  it  with  reluctance,  after  many  remonstrances,  and  a  refusal 
at  first  The  country  was  occupied  only  two  years.  At  the  end 
of  1594,  Lesdiguieres  was  obliged  to  retreat,  having  lost  the  im- 
portant post  of  Bricherasco,  and  the  duke  again  took  possession 
of  this  part  of  his  domains.  But,  as  if  it  had  not  been  enough 
for  the  poor  Vaudois  to  have  been  burdened  with  quartering 
soldiers  and  military  contributions,  Avith  having  endured  all 
kinds  of  evil,  even  pillage  and  incendiarism,*  it  was  for  awhile 
in  contemplation  to  punish  them  for  the  oath  they  had  taken  to 
the  crown  of  France,  at  the  same  time  as  their  lords  and  other 
papists  did,  to  whom,  nevertheless,  it  was  never  imputed  as  a 
crime.  Happily,  there  were  conscientious  men  in  the  duke's 
council,  who,  knowing  that  the  Vaudois  had  in  the  first  place 
taken  advice  at  Turin,  and  that  they  had  acted  as  they  had  done 
with  the  tacit  authoritv  of  the  duchess  (the  duke  was  then  fight- 
ing in  Provence)  and  her  council,  succeeded  in  their  explana- 
tions and  apologies,  though  not  without  difficulty. 

The  noise  of  arms,  the  tumult  of  the  soldiery,  the  complaints 
which  arose  on  their  passing  through  the  country,  were  succeeded 
by  the  sound  of  animated  voices — a  tumult  of  ecclesiastics,  monks, 
and  priests,  declaiming,  complaining,  urging,  deafening,  disputing, 
recriminating,  sometimes  insulting,  and,  what  is  worse,  foment- 
ing hatred,  distrust,  and  divisions,  having  recourse  to  deception 
and  intimidation,  and  even  to  persecution,  which  they  accom- 
plished in  the  silent  obscurity  of  dungeons.  The  young  duke 
had,  it  is  true,  in  passing  through  the  valley  of  Lucerna,f  encou- 
raged his  faithful  Vaudois  subjects  by  saying, — "  Be  faithful  to 
me,  and  I  will  be  a  good  prince  and  even  a  good  father  to  you : 
as  to  liberty  of  conscience  and  the  exercise  of  your  religion,  I 
wish  to  make  no  innovation ;  I  will  make  no  alteration  in  the 
mode  of  living  to  which  you  have  hitherto  been  accustomed  ;  and 

*  La  Torre,  during  the  siege  of  Bricherasco,  by  the  duke,  was  suddenly  as- 
saulted, pillaged,  and  partly  burned,  by  a  division  of  Spaniards,  who,  on  their  re- 
turn, also  set  on  fire  various  parts  of  San  Giovanni. 

t  When  Charles  Emmanuel  was  on  a  journey  to  the  fortress  of  Mirebouc,  a 
deputation  of  the  Vaudois  waited  upon  him  at  Villar,  to  pay  him  homage  ;  and 
on  that  occasion  he  uttered  these  excellent  sentiments. 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

if  any  persons  attempt  to  trouble  you,  come  to  me,  and  I  will 
see  to  it."  But  the  duke  was  not  able  to  refuse  his  clergy  au- 
thority to  send  a  mission,  and  even  regular  missions  to  the  val- 
leys ;  and  nothing  more  was  necessary  to  create  troubles  and 
sufferings  in  abundance  among  the  inhabitants. 

The  archbishop  of  Turin  visited  the  valleys  with  a  numerous 
retinue.  Great  effects  were  looked  for  from  his  presence.  The 
Vaudois,  it  was  thought,  dazzled  by  the  splendour  that  surround- 
ed a  prince  of  the  church,  would  throw  themselves  at  his  feet ; 
or  at  least,  if  they  still  delayed  their  passage  to  popery  for  a  while, 
they  would  lend  a  favourable  ear  to  missionaries  under  his  high 
patronage,  and  appointed  by  him.  Some  of  these  missionaries 
were  Jesuits  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna ;  others,  reverend  capu- 
chins, in  the  valleys  of  Perosa  and  San  Martino. 

These  servants  of  the  pope  did  not  spare  themselves.  They 
were  everywhere,  in  public  assemblies,  in  private  houses,  in  shops, 
in  fields,  on  the  roads.  They  entered  into  discussions  with  every 
one,  passing  as  rapidly  from  one  hearer  to  the  next  as  from  one 
subject  to  another.  There  was  nothing  bv,  perpetual  wrangling. 
The  ministers  had  yielded  to  the  temptation  to  reply ;  they  even 
thought  that  their  honour  and  their  office  engaged  them  to  take 
part  in  these  contests.  But  they  soon  perceived  that  they  were 
spent  in  words,  without  any  real  edification,  owing  to  the  ver- 
satility of  their  adversaries  in  changing  the  ground  of  debate, 
when  they  felt  that  which  they  were  upon  failing  them.  The 
shafts  of  truth  were  scattered  without  hitting  the  mark.  The 
ministers  then  resolved  only  to  hold  discussions  at  regular  and 
public  sittings,  on  a  subject  announced  with  precision,  and  they 
kept  to  this  resolution.  The  first  of  these  disputations  was  held 
at  San  Giovanni,  in  1596,  at  which  the  count  of  Lucerna  pre- 
sided. The  turn  it  took  was  so  decidedly  against  the  Jesuits, 
that  the  count,  being  urged  to  speak  his  sentiments,  and  to  give 
his  reasons  to  the  minister,  had  recourse  to  an  evasion,  and  pre- 
cipitately closed  the  debate.* 

In  the  valleys  of  Perosa  and  San  Martino,  the  capuchin  fathers 
were  equally  busy,  especially  as  they  felt  themselves  supported 

*  "  If  you  were  disputing,"  he  said,  "  about  the  qualities  of  a  good  horse  or  a 
good  sword,  I  would  give  you  my  opinion,  for  I  understand  something  about 
such  things  ;  but  I  do  not  understand  your  controversies,  and  therefore  do  not 
wish  to  intermeddle  with  them.  Besides,  I  must  tell  you  that  I  have  his  high- 
ness's  orders  to  go  immediately  to  Turin,"  etc. 


MEANS  USED  TO  BRING  THE  VAUDOIS  TO  POPERY.   218 

by  having  the  duke's  troops  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  were 
fighting  in  the  vale  of  Clusone  with  those  of  the  king  of  France. 
Among  other  things,  they  succeeded  so  far  that  the  governor  of 
Pinerolo  undertook  to  deprive  a  large  number  of  evangelicals 
at  Pinache,  of  the  use  of  their  temple,  ravaged  the  village,  and 
sent  the  father  and  brother  of  the  pastor  Ughet,  who  had  escaped 
them,  to  prison  at  Turin.  Others  also  were  sent,  and  many  died 
there.  They  obtained  their  release  with  difficulty,  and  rarely 
without  abjuring.  The  pastor  of  Pravilhelm,  Antoine  Bonjour, 
who  was  shut  up  in  the  fortress  of  Revel,  was  more  fortunate,  for, 
having  let  himself  down  the  wall,  he  gained  the  woods,  and  then 
the  mountains,  and  returned  in  peace  to  Bobbio,  his  native  place, 
where  he  was  settled  as  pastor  till  his  death. 

The  capuchins,  who  were  sent  to  the  valleys  of  Perosa  and 
San  Martino,  being  filled  with  presumption,  wished  also  to  have 
the  honour  of  a  public  disputation  at  Saint-Germain,  in  1598, 
but  they  had  not  much  reason  to  congratulate  themselves  on 
the  result.  They  then  had  recourse  to  a  more  skilful  method 
for  making  proselytes,  and  less  likely  to  compromise  themselves. 
They  informed  the  evangelicals,  with  an  air  of  mystery,  that  there 
were  serious  and  alarming  designs  on  foot  against  them,  which 
would  suddenly  be  carried  into  effect.  This  confidential  com- 
munication, which  they  begged  them  to  keep  secret,  lest  any 
harm  should  come  to  its  authors  for  their  charitable  imprudence, 
had  no  other  object,  they  said,  but  to  induce  those  who  were  in- 
terested to  turn  to  the  right  side  before  it  was  too  late.  These 
rumours,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted,  occasioned  many  fears,  but 
they  had  not  the  effect  which  their  authors  expected. 

The  monkish  missionaries,  being  dissatisfied  with  their  fruitless 
efforts,  thought  of  another  method,  the  force  of  which  they  per- 
ceived, and  which  from  that  time  has  been  too  much  practised, 
to  the  detriment  of  the  honour  of  those  who  use  it,  and  of  the 
religion  which  could  sanction  it.  They  attached  themselves  to 
persons  in  debt,  or  in  bad  circumstances,  burdened  with  a  family, 
and  of  little  integrity,  promising  them  a  sum  of  money,  and  fur- 
ther assistance,  if  they  abjured  the  gospel.  They  also  promised 
a  full  pardon  to  persons  who,  by  their  crimes,  were  exposed  to 
the  vengeance  of  the  laws,  if  they  would  go  to  mass.  This  im- 
moral expedient  was  the  most  successful.  The  Vaudois  would 
have  consoled  themselves  for  the  loss  of  unworthy  men  who  were 


214  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

only  a  disgrace  to  their  church,  if  their  children  had  not  also 
been  drawn  with  them  into  the  abyss  of  error  by  their  apostasy. 
Two  persons  of  a  higher  class,  one  of  Pramol,  the  other  of  the 
valley  of  San  Martino,  also  abjured ;  the  first,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  punishment  which  threatened  him  for  abuse  of  authority  and 
acts  of  extortion ;  the  second  from  vanity,  being  flattered  by  the 
attentions  of  the  gentry  and  magistrates  of  the  country.  These 
defections  served  at  least  to  show  the  Vaudois  into  what  new 
dangers  pride,  the  love  of  money,  and  every  immoral  act,  might 
precipitate  them. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1599,  the  duke  having  taken  a 
journey  to  France,  the  adversaries  of  the  Vaudois  thought  it 
was  a  favourable  opportunity  for  molesting  them.  They  wished 
to  oblige  them  to  keep  the  popish  festivals  in  some  places  where 
it  had  never  been  the  practice  to  do  so,  and  they  shut  up  the 
schools  in  other  parts.  On  the  least  resistance,  the  people  were 
dragged  to  prison,  from  which  they  could  be  released  only  by 
paying  a  fine,  or  by  promising  to  go  to  mass.  An  enterprising 
man,  moreover,  named  Ubertin  Braide,  was  appointed  parish 
priest  at  La  Torre,  v?\o  claimed  from  the  evangelicals  the  tithes 
from  which  they  had  been  freed  since  1561,  and  on  their  refusal 
caused  their  goods  to  be  seized  by  the  officers  of  justice.  The 
irritation  produced  in  many  quarters  was  excessive.  An  out- 
break was  expected.  But  a  deputation  sent  to  the  duke,  who 
was  then  in  Savoy,  produced  a  redress  of  these  grievances.  The 
priest  having  been  defeated  in  his  claims,  a  calm  seemed  to  be 
restored.  But  some  ill-advised  young  men,  by  their  reprehen- 
sible conduct,  rekindled  the  fire  that  was  scarcely  concealed 
among  the  ashes.  One  evening  they  terrified  the  priest,  by  their 
cries,  after  he  had  retired  to  his  parsonage ;  and  fearing  some 
act  of  vengeance,  he  took  refuge  with  a  gentleman  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. 

The  affair  was  regarded  as  criminal.  An  investigation  took 
place.  The  young  men,  who  were  well  known,  were  to  be  con- 
ducted to  Turin.  On  the  arrival  of  a  detachment  of  archers, 
they  took  to  flight.  Not  making  their  appearance  in  court,  they 
were  condemned  for  contumacy,  and  banished  from  the  duke's 
territories.  This  event  was  a  source  of  great  sorrow  to  the  pas- 
tors, the  watchful  guardians  of  the  public  morals,  and  a  prolonged 
source  of  trouble,  and  even  of  offences  and  crimes ;  for  these 


THE  MARTYR  COUPIN.  215 

youths,  being  constrained  to  flee  from  their  homes,  and  having 
no  regular  means  of  subsistence,  often  claimed  by  force  what 
they  could  not  obtain  by  good-will.  Some  abandoned  people, 
many  of  whom  were  papists,  took  advantage  of  the  general  con- 
fusion to  commit  crimes  in  secret,  which  they  hoped  would  be 
attributed  to  these  outlaws. 

A  melancholy  event  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  showed 
the  extent  of  that  popish  arrogance  which  would  not  allow  an 
evangelical  Christian  even  the  right  of  answering,  in  his  own  de- 
fence, those  who  disputed  the  excellence  of  his  religion.  A  wor- 
thy merchant  of  La  Torre,  named  Coupin,  being  at  Asti,  in  1 601 , 
for  the  fair,  was  led  on,  one  evening  at  supper,  by  the  questions 
of  the  other  guests,  to  avow  himself  a  Yaudois,  and  to  deny  the 
real  presence  of  the  Saviour  in  the  eucharist.  Being  denounced 
as  a  criminal,  although  he  kept  within  the  limits  of  defence  al- 
lowed by  the  treaty  of  1561,  he  was  thrown  into  prison,  from 
which  no  representations  made  by  his  relations  and  friends,  and 
by  the  churches,  even  to  the  duke  himself,  could  gain  his  release. 
The  inquisition  would  not  let  go  its  prey  till  deprived  of  life,  nor 
even  then ;  for  when  the  martyr  was  found  dead  in  his  cell,  his 
remains  were  publicly  burned.  Daring  the  two  years  of  his  cap- 
tivity, this  humble  and  sincere  Christian  was  not  shaken  in  his 
faith  for  a  moment,  but  edified  to  the  last  those  who  were  ad- 
mitted to  see  him.  He  was  astonished  himself  at  the  unexpected 
power  which  was  communicated  to  him,  and  at  the  clear,  precise, 
and  evangelical  answers  with  which  God  inspired  him  in  the  pre- 
sence of  his  judges. 

The  same  year  on  which  Coupin  was  arrested,  that  is,  in  1601, 
an  order  was  given  to  all  the  evangelicals  of  the  marquisate  of 
Saluzzo*  to  quit  the  domains  of  his  highness  within  two  months 
from  the  publication  of  the  edict.  They  were  allowed  to  dispose 
of  their  property  within  the  same  period.  Alas !  several  gave 
up  their  faith  and  became  papists ;  nevertheless,  a  great  number 
of  families  preferred  obeying  God,  and  passed  over  to  France  or 
Switzerland.  Some  succeeded  in  settling  themselves  in  the  valleys. 
The  ancient  Vaudois  churches  of  the  marquisate,  at  Pravilhelm 
and  others  in  the  mountains,  were  at  last  left  in  repose,  after 
having  shared  for  some  time  the  general  tribulation. 

*This  marquisate  was  reded  to  Piedmont  by  France  in  that  year,  by  the 
treaty  of  Lyons. 


216  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  efforts  of  the  papists  did  not  stop  here.  They  endeavour- 
ed, both  by  flatteries  and  threats,  to  induce  the  members  of  the 
Vaudois  Church  to  abjure  who  were  settled  in  the  town  of  Lu- 
cerna,  as  well  as  in  those  of  Bibbiana,  Campiglione,  and  Fenile, 
on  the  confines  of  Piedmont,  where  they  did  not  enjoy  the  right 
of  holding  their  worship  in  public.  Ponte,  the  governor  of  the 
province,  in  order  to  intimidate  them,  gave  notice  to  the  recu- 
sants, by  edicts  issued  with  the  greatest  publicity,  of  the  expira- 
tion of  their  term  for  remaining  in  the  country.  The  archbishop 
of  Turin,  who  was  on  the  spot,  called  the  parties  interested  be- 
fore him,  flattered  them  with  smooth  speeches,  or  sought  to  shake 
their  faith  by  arguments,  which,  no  doubt,  he  thought  plausible. 
For  this  latter  purpose,  and  to  please  them,  without  maturely  con- 
sidering the  danger  his  cause  would  incur,  he  even  challenged 
a  public  disputation,  which  took  place  at  San  Giovanni,  between 
his  delegate,  Marchesi,  professor  and  rector  of  the  Jesuits  at  Tu- 
rin, and  the  pastor,  Auguste  Gros,  an  ancient  popish  professor, 
converted  long  before,  and  a  man  of  talent,  information,  and 
great  piety.  This  dispute,  which  confirmed  the  Vaudois  who 
were  present  in  their  faith,  was  not  renewed,  though  the  minis- 
ter was  perfectly  willing,  as  it  had  not  produced  the  results  which 
the  archbishop  hoped  for. 

The  town  of  Lucerna  not  having  been  included  in  the  treaty 
of  1561,  the  Vaudois  who  had  settled  there,  and  did  not  abjure 
their  religion,  had  to  fix  themselves  elsewhere.  Those  who  were 
settled  at  Bibbiana,  Campiglione,  and  Fenile,  conformably  to 
the  treaty,  would  not  be  persuaded  to  leave  them.  To  overcome 
this  repugnance,  recourse  was  had  to  a  method  which  only  priests, 
more  concerned  about  their  own  interests  than  their  sovereign's 
honour,  could  devise.  They  persuaded  the  duke  to  interfere  per- 
sonally with  the  most  respectable  persons,  and  to  add  to  his  pre- 
ceding acts  the  weight  of  his  direct  influence ;  the  urgency  of 
kind  expressions  ;  and  the  irresistible  authority  of  a  request  from 
his  lips.  Unthinking  men !  not  to  see  that  on  the  most  favour- 
able supposition,  that  of  success,  the  prince  would  lose  more  than 
he  gained ;  that  by  inducing  his  subjects  to  deny  their  faith,  he 
would  shake  his  own  throne,  since  fidelity  to  a  sovereign,  just 
and  legitimate  as  it  is,  cannot  be  more  so  than  that  which  is  due 
to  God,  and,  moreover,  is  only  strong  and  durable  so  far  as  it 
rests  on  religious  belief.     And  in  case  of  a  result  unfavourable 


MEANS  USED  TO  BRING  THE  VAUDOIS  TO  POPERY.   217 

to  their  schemes,  that  of  resistance  on  the  part  of  a  Vaudois  to 
the  moral  pressure  exercised  upon  him  by  his  prince,  would  not 
the  majesty  of  the  throne  be  compromised  by  a  fruitless  attempt 
on  the  conscience  of  a  subject,  and  the  person  of  the  prince  be 
exposed  to  a  severe  judgment  from  him  who  would  have  wished 
to  be  always  able  to  respect  it  ? 

On  an  appointed  day,  four  persons  of  the  greatest  consideration 
among  the  Vaudois  of  Bibbiana,  who,  by  their  influence,  accord- 
ing to  what  their  adversaries  said,  had  hitherto  rendered  the 
united  efforts  of  the  irritated  governor  and  the  insinuating  arch- 
bishop useless,  were  sent  for  to  Turin,  in  the  name  of  the  prince, 
and  introduced,  one  after  another,  into  his  presence.  The  first, 
named  Valentin,  Boule,  or  Bolla,  after  listening  to  the  affection- 
ate language  .of  his  highness,  expressive  of  an  earnest  desire  that 
he  should  embrace  his  religion,  respectfully  supplicated  his  sove- 
reign to  permit  him  to  remain  faithful  to  God,  according  to  his 
word.  Is  it  necessary  to  add,  that  the  duke  ceased  to  urge  him, 
and  allowed  him  to  withdraw,  saying,  "  You  would  certainly  have 
given  me  great  pleasure  in  complying  with  my  remonstrance, 
but  I  do  not  wish  to  do  violence  to  your  conscience."  Valentin 
Bolla  having  departed  without  being  able  to  exchange  a  word 
with  the  three  others,  it  was  falsely  represented  to  them  that 
their  brother  and  friend  had  yielded  to  the  duke's  desire,  and 
pledged  himself  to  abjure.  Deceived  by  this  account,  and  dis- 
concerted by  the  apparent  defection  of  him  whom  they  consider- 
ed as  the  most  faithful,  they  promised,  one  after  another,  to  do 
what  was  desired  so  ardently.  A  part  of  their  friends  at  Bib- 
biana followed  their  example ;  yet  several  afterwards  returned 
to  the  church. 

Some  time  after,  the  same  expedient  was  tried  with  some  in- 
fluential persons  among  the  Vaudois  of  Pinache,  in  the  valley  of 
Perosa,  after  the  governor  Ponte  and  the  archbishop  had  used 
their  utmost  efforts  with  the  people  in  general.  The  three  Vau- 
dois who  appeared  before  the  duke,  namely,  Michael  Gilles,  Jean 
Micol,  and  Jean  Bouchard,  remained  firm  in  the  faith,  as  did 
also  the  greater  part  of  their  brethren  of  Perosa  and  of  the  Val 
Clusone,  in  spite  of  the  various  means  which  were  set  at  work 
to  inveigle  them  into  popery.  In  order  to  seduce  the  poor  du- 
ring the  great  dearth  in  the  year  1602,  the  archbishop  promised 
food  in  plentv  for  those  who  would  so  to  mass.     Ho  spared,  in 

10 


218  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

feet,  neither  corn  nor  money ;  yet  he  made  little  progress  by  this 
immoral  enticement.  He  also  prevented  those  Vaudois  from 
being  employed  as  reapers,  in  the  plain,  who  were  not  provided 
with  a  certificate  signed  by  himself. 

It  will  be  understood,  moreover,  that  the  government  and  the 
duke  himself,  frequently  impelled  by  the  contrivances  of  the 
priests  to  measures  and  acts  that  were  of  little  avail  for  the  con- 
version of  the  Vaudois  to  popery,  and  not  appreciating  the  mo- 
tives of  conscience  which  prompted  the  latter  to  resistance,  were 
ill-satisfied  with  the  small  heed  given  to  their  desires  and  wishes. 
The  troubles  occasioned  by  the  young  men  who  were  outlawed 
for  their  imprudent  conduct  to  the  priest  of  La  Torre,  and  were 
now  wandering  fugitives,  living  at  hazard  from  day  to  day  on 
charity  or  plunder — troubles  and  disorders,  which  the  pastors 
could  not  prevent — were  represented  to  the  prince  as  symptoms 
of  revolt  against  his  authority,  and  were  made  use  of  to  excite 
him  to  the  most  rigorous  measures.  Even  the  destruction  of  the 
churches  was  talked  of. 

The  Vaudouis,  having  received  from  various  quarters  advice 
to  keep  themselves  on  their  guard,  comprehended  all  the  great- 
ness of  the  danger ;  but  instead  of  having  recourse  to  means  of 
human  defence,  they  had  only  one  thought,  that  of  imploring  the 
assistance  (so  often  experienced)  of  their  heavenly  Protector, 
being  fully  persuaded  of  the  truth,  that  "  except  the  Lord  keep 
the  city,  the  watchman  waketh  but  in  vain,"  (Psa.  exxvii,  1 .) 
They  exhorted  the  people  to  repentance,  and  to  amend  their 
ways  in  several  respects.  The  ablest  pastors  for  the  occasion 
visited  the  churches,  paying  special  attention  to  those  that  were 
in  the  most  unsound  state.  They  also  addressed  the  least  cul- 
pable of  the  banished,  and  appealed  to  their  better  sentiments. 
More  than  all,  they  humbled  themselves  by  a  solemn  fast,  on  the 
11th  and  12th  of  August,  1602.  Shortly  after,  the  governor  of 
Turin,  with  the  provost-general,  and  a  great  company  of  officers 
of  justice,  arrived  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna.  They  came  to  judge 
the  banished  individuals,  whom  the  communes  were  ordered  to 
give  up.  In  place  of  these  men,  they  wished  to  send  a  petition 
for  his  highness  to  the  governor,  which  he  refused.  He  published 
some  severe  orders,  and  departed.* 

*  On  his  arrival  at  Turin  he  was  arrested  and  disgraced,  but  for  reasons  foreign 
to  our  historv. 


THE  OUTLAWS.  219 

The  Vaudois  then  had  recourse  to  the  mediation  of  count 
Charles,  of  Lucerna,  principal  lord  of  one  of  the  valleys,  and 
who  was  in  favour  at  court.  They  also  sent  a  deputation,  charged 
with  presenting  a  petition,  in  writing,  to  his  highness,  from  the 
valleys,  in  which  they  set  the  facts  in  their  true  light,  complained 
of  the  calumnies  by  which  their  enemies  aimed  to  render  them 
odious  in  the  eyes  of  their  prince,  and  appealed  with  confidence 
to  his  benevolence,  as  well  as  to  his  high  sense  of  justice.  But, 
who  can  believe  it  ?  to  be  presented  to  the  prince,  the  petition 
required  to  be  modified  in  its  form,  and  even  in  its  substance. 
They  were  forced  to  express  themselves,  as  if  guilty  of  culpable 
actions ;  but  in  spite  of  these  alterations,  nay,  perhaps  in  conse- 
quence of  them,  its  success  was  very  partial. 

While  the  churches  were  preparing  to  draw  up  a  new  address 
to  the  duke,  some  facts  occurred  which  were  not  adapted  to  re- 
establish tranquillity.  The  Vaudois  of  Pinache,  in  the  valley 
of  Perosa,  not  having  been  able  for  a  long  time  to  obtain  justice 
in  reference  to  a  temple  of  which  the  use  was  disputed,  seized 
on  that  of  Dublon,  to  which  they  had  an  equal  right,  giving  up 
to  the  papists,  in  return,  their  claim  to  the  former.  Threats  and 
some  vexation  followed,  but  without  any  disastrous  issue.  At 
Lucerna,  on  a  market-day  in  March,  1603,  six  of  the  outlaws 
were  recognized.  Being  surrounded  and  attacked  in  a  narrow 
street,  they  made  their  way  through  by  force  of  arms,  killing, 
among  others,  a  captain  Crespin.  One  of  them,  having  fractured 
his  thigh  in  leaping  from  a  wall,  was  taken,  tried,  and  condemned 
to  be  quartered.  A  company  of  infantry  were  brought  to 
attend  the  execution,  and  afterwards  remained  for  several 
months,  to  protect  Lucerna  against  the  dreaded  attacks  of  the 
outlaws. 

In  the  month  of  April,  the  valleys  received  the  happy  news, 
that,  through  the  intercession  of  count  Charles  of  Lucerna,  the 
duke  Charles  Emmanuel  had  granted  the  greater  part  of  their 
requests,  especially  the  pardon  of  the  outlaws,  with  the  exception 
of  some,  who  were  specified.  This  result  gave  them  great  joy, 
but  only  for  a  short  time ;  for  it  was  soon  perceived  that  all  dif- 
ficulties were  not  removed.  How  was  it  possible  that  this  should 
be  the  case,  when  it  seemed  to  be  an  admitted  principle,  in  trans- 
actions with  the  Vaudois,  to  consider  the  concessions  and  pro- 
mises made  to  them  as  matters  that  seemed  at  the  time  unavoid- 


220  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

able,  and  only  granted  until  an  opportunity  should  arise  for  re- 
voking them,  or  hindering  their  performance  ? 

At  length,  after  a  new  mission  of  the  count  Charles  to  the  val- 
leys, in  company  with  the  provost-general  of  justice,  a  removal 
of  all  difficulties  was  effected.  A  temple  was  granted  to  the 
people  of  Pinache.  The  outlaws  were  pardoned,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  five,  and  the  valleys  engaged  to  pay  a  fixed  sum,  by 
way  of  amends  for  insults  to  the  popish  temples,  which  were  at- 
tributed to  the  Yaudois. 

Days  of  peace  succeeded  to  the  melancholy  times  that  had  just 
passed.  They  were  not  marked  by  any  extraordinary  events. 
The  church  of  La  Torre  enlarged  its  temple,  notwithstanding 
the  opposition  of  the  papists,  thanks  to  the  friendly  interposition 
of  the  duke.  In  the  year  1605,  many  people  were  carried  off 
in  the  valleys  by  dysentery,  among  others  Dominique  Vignaux, 
the  pastor  of  Villaro,  a  native  of  Penasac,  in  Gascony,  a  noble 
by  birth  and  behaviour,  of  pure  morals,  a  man  of  letters,  a  good 
theologian,  and  generally  employed  in  the  more  important  af- 
fairs of  the  churches.  To  him  was  confided  the  task  of  collect- 
ing the  original  writings  of  the  Vaudois>  in  the  Romance  or  Yau- 
dois language,  and  in  Latin,  (see  ch.  x.,  above,)  which  were 
transmitted  to  Pierre  Perrin,  pastor  in  Dauphine,  agreeably  to 
the  resolution  of  the  synod  of  France,  to  assist  him  in  his  re- 
searches on  the  history  of  the  Yaudois. 

In  1611,  the  valleys  were  alarmed  by  the  appearance  of  a 
large  body  of  French  troops,  in  the  service  of  Savoy,  who  re- 
mained a  month  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  and  committed  some 
excesses  there. 

In  1613,  and  the  following  year,  the  Yaudois  were  themselves 
called  to  take  up  arms  for  the  service  of  their  prince.  They 
furnished  several  companies  of  militia,  who  acquitted  themselves 
with  credit  at  the  siege  of  Saint  Damian,  in  Yercelli,  and  else- 
where. They  were  allowed  to  meet  together,  morning  and  eve- 
ning, to  offer  their  accustomed  devotions.  In  many  places,  es- 
pecially in  the  cities,  they  were  received  with  friendship.  Their 
hosts  questioned  them  on  the  points  of  their  religion,  and  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  know  the  truth ;  and  some  even  showed  that 
they  were  not  unacquainted  with  it.  But,  in  more  retired  places, 
the  inhabitants  fled  at  their  approach,  and  feared  to  furnish  them 
with  lodgings ;  for,  as  in  former  ages,  popish  superstition  repre- 


FINE  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  CEMETERIES.  221 

sented  them  as  one-eyed  monsters,  and  decorated  their  mouths 
with  four  rows  of  long  black  teeth,  intended  to  chew  the  flesh 
and  bones  of  little  children,  whom,  it  was  said,  they  were  fond 
of  broiling  on  the  coals. 

The  population  of  San  Giovanni  increased  greatly,  and,  being 
straitened  in  the  locality  where  they  usually  performed  Divine 
service,  built  a  much  larger  temple.  But  a  powerful  influence 
at  the  court  caused  it  to  be  closed.  The  same  spirit  deprived 
the  Vaudois  at  Campiglione  of  the  use  of  their  ancient  ceme- 
tery adjoining  that  of  the  papists.  The  valleys  had  even  to 
pay  six  thousand  half-ducats  to  prevent  the  employment  of  more 
severe  measures,  occasioned  by  an  attempt  at  interment  by  force 
of  arms  in  the  disputed  cemetery. 

The  payment  of  this  considerable  sum  very  nearly  produced 
disunion  in  the  three  valleys  ;  those  of  Perosa  and  San  Martino 
having  refused  to  pay  their  quota  to  that  of  Lucerna.  They 
were  not,  however,  slow  to  perceive  that,  if  they  followed  out 
this  selfish  system,  they  would  become  isolated  from  one  another, 
and  offer  an  easy  prey  to  their  common  enemy,  who  was  always 
on  the  watch.  In  fact,  the  valley  of  Lucerna  having  to  pay  to 
the  authorities  a  fresh  sum,  which  was  claimed  without  any  rea- 
sons founded  on  justice,  it  transferred  to  the  ducal  chamber  (ra- 
ther by  coercion,  it  pretended)  its  claims  on  the  contributions 
which  were  due  to  it  from  the  other  valleys.  The  Vaudois  com- 
munes thus  found  themselves  constrained  to  pay,  by  fear  of  the 
supreme  authority,  what  they  should  have  consented  to  give  from 
good- will,  out  of  love  to  their  brethren  and  the  common  welfare. 

The  officers  of  the  chamber  incessantly  claimed  the  payment 
of  the  debt.  In  a  general  assembly  of  the  overseers  of  the  com- 
munes of  the  valley  of  Perosa,  called  to  clear  themselves  from  a 
grave  charge,  the  abstraction  of  accounts  sealed  and  left  in  trust 
with  some  of  them,  the  papists  (who  were  alone  involved,  since 
to  them  alone  the  abstracted  documents  had  been  intrusted)  ad- 
vised the  Vaudois  to  unite  with  them  in  preparing  a  joint  peti- 
tion, in  which  they  should  state  the  demands  of  both  parties,  and 
should  offer  in  compensation  a  round  sum  of  three  thousand  half- 
ducats,  to  be  paid  by  all  jointly.  The  Vaudois  overseers  flatter- 
ed themselves  with  obtaining,  by  their  union  with  the  papists,  and 
the  protection  of  the  distinguished  patrons  whom  their  friends  had 
at  court,  a  remission  of  their  debt  and  a  confirmation  of  their  liber- 


222  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ties.  They  hoped,  also,  by  this  step,  which  appeared  to  them 
well  planned,  to  wipe  out  the  remembrance  of  some  little  acts  of 
resistance  to  authority  which  had  occurred  in  maintaining  their 
privileges.  These  acts  were,  the  deliverance  of  the  minister 
Chanforan,  who  was  being  removed  from  his  post  and  taken  to 
Pinerolo,  for  having  displeased  the  reverend  capuchins  of  Per- 
rier,  in  a  debate  with  them ;  and  the  opposition  which  the  Vaudois 
of  Pinache  had  made  to  the  officers  of  justice  in  a  distant  locality, 
who,  not  being  aware  that  custom  had  authorized  the  Vaudois  to 
work  within  their  limits  on  the  popish  holidays,  were  about  to  ap- 
prehend some  workmen,  who  were  occupied  in  building  a  belfry. 
Being  carried  away  by  the  fair  speeches  of  their  popish  colleagues, 
the  Vaudois  overseers  gave  their  signatures,  but  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  pastors  and  people  of  the  churches,  to  a  peti- 
tion, in  which  the  cause  they  professed  to  serve  occupied  a  very 
insignificant  place.  Full  of  blind  confidence,  they  left  to  the 
governor  of  the  castle,  a  wily  papist,  the  conduct  of  the  negotia- 
tions and  the  verbal  communications. 

Is  it  wonderful  that  the  result  deceived  their  hopes  and  threw 
them  into  new  perplexities  ?  The  answer,  which  favoured  the 
papists,  put  the  three  thousand  half-ducats  entirely  to  the  ac- 
count of  the  evangelicals ;  moreover,  it  condemned  them  to  de- 
molish six  of  their  temples,  under  the  pretence  that  they  were 
without  the  limits,  which  was  not  the  case.  Such  were  the  bit- 
ter fruits  of  the  divided  state  of  the  valleys,  and  the  union  of 
the  Vaudois  with  the  enemies  of  their  religion.  But  the  people 
of  the  valley  of  Perosa  had  not  reached  the  end  of  their  suffer- 
ings. An  explanatory  memorial,  in  which  they  requested  milder 
conditions,  by  some  fatal  negligence  was  not  presented  in  time. 
The  order  to  demolish  at  least  the  belfry  of  Pinache  having  been 
repeated  in  the  interval  by  the  governor  of  Pinerolo,  without  its 
being  attended  to,  the  Vaudois  relying  on  their  petition,  and 
taking  no  further  trouble  about  it,  while  their  enemies  laboured 
in  an  underhand  manner  against  them,  the  prince,  to  whom  they 
had  been  misrepresented,  prepared  to  punish  them  severely. 
This  took  place  in  1623. 

At  the  beginning  of  1624,  a  peremptory  order  to  demolish  the 
six  temples  reached  the  communes,  accompanied  by  threats,  that, 
if  not  immediately  complied  with,  recourse  would  be  had  to  arms. 
Towards  the  end  of  January,  a  regiment  of  French  troops  oc- 


OCCUPATION  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  PEROSA.    223 

cupied  one  of  the  great  Vaudois  villages  in  the  valley  of  Perosa, 
namely,  Saint- Germain,  to  the  north-west  of  Pinerolo,  at  the 
opening  of  the  vale  of  Pramol,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Clusone. 
Very  soon  after,  the  whole  valley  was  occupied  by  a  total  force 
of  six  or  seven  thousand  soldiers.  In  the  perplexity  into  which 
the  valley  of  Perosa  was  thrown  by  this  sudden  invasion,  the 
other  valleys,  and  even  that  of  Clusone,  (Pragela,)  then  belong- 
ing to  France,  did  not  abandon  it.  Whatever  obstacles  were 
attempted  to  be  put  in  the  way  on  the  part  of  the  duke  and  the 
lords,  numerous  detachments  of  resolute  men,  traversing  the 
mountains  covered  with  snow,  were  still  continually  hastening  to 
the  spot  from  all  points  of  the  valleys.  But  what  reasonable 
hope  could  be  entertained  of  driving  out  of  the  country  an  army 
so  large  and  so  well  disciplined  as  the  duke's  ?  Accordingly,  they 
were  soon  obliged  to  decide  on  the  cruel  extremity  of  demolish- 
ing the  six  temples.  They  consoled  themselves  a  little  with  the 
hope  of  soon  rebuilding  them  after  the  departure  of  the  troops, 
which  had  been  settled  with  Syllan,  the  ducal  commissioner. 
But  the  count  Taffin,  who  commanded  the  army,  appeared  to 
consider  his  mission  as  by  no  means  terminated ;  he  required  the 
Vaudois  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  particularly  to  take  down 
the  barricades  and  other  means  of  defence,  behind  which  they 
were  intrenched  on  the  heights  of  Saint-Germain,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  vale  of  Pramol.  Such  a  demand  betrayed  his  ulterior  de- 
signs, and  they  refused  to  accede  to  it.  A  sharp  skirmish  fol- 
lowed, but,  with  all  their  efforts,  the  papists  could  not  force  a 
passage.  Their  situation  was  anything  but  advantageous  to  them- 
selves ;  they  were  in  the  depth  of  winter,  badly  lodged,  and  part 
of  them  not  at  all ;  often  without  fire  or  shelter,  in  the  midst  of 
the  snow,  which  this  year  was  deeper  than  usual,  having  before 
them  vigorous  adversaries,  whose  numbers  had  increased  con- 
tinually since  the  assault  on  the  barricades.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, a  convention  was  easily  concluded  between  count  Taffin 
and  the  chiefs  of  the  valleys,  in  the  presence  and  by  the  good 
offices  of  count  Philip,  of  Lucerna.  The  army  retired,  and  the 
deputies  of  all  the  communes  of  the  valley  of  Perosa  appeared 
before  his  highness,  to  make  the  best  apology  they  could,  and 
obtain  their  pardon,  as  well  as  permission  to  rebuild  their  temples. 
From  time  to  time,  the  inquisition  found  means  of  making  a 
victim  of  some  one  or  other.     Its  aim  was  chiefly  against  the  con- 


224  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

verts  from  popery  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  valleys.  It  ap- 
prehended them,  whenever,  deceived  by  apparent  peace,  they 
ventured  into  Piedmont.  Thus  Sebastien  Basan  died  in  Turin 
at  the  stake,  in  1623,  besides  Louis  Malherbe,  who  ended  his 
days  in  prison,  in  1626.  And  many  others  groaned  for  years 
in  dungeons,  or,  after  struggling  for  release,  perished,  most 
frequently  the  victims  of  secret  outrage,  unpitied  and  un- 
known ! 

A  monk,  father  Bonaventure,  attempted  a  new  kind  of  war- 
fare. His  manners  were  familiar  and  caressing,  and  he  thus 
made  himself  agreeable  to  children,  and  succeeded  in  carrying 
off  several  boys  of  ten  or  twelve  years  old,  in  the  villages  below 
the  valley  of  Lucerna,  bordering  on  Piedmont,  (Bibbiana,  Fenile, 
Campiglione  and  others,)  where  from  ancient  times  Vaudois  and 
papists  Tiad  lived  intermixed.  The  children  were  never  restored 
to  their  relations.  And,  whatever  steps  were  taken,  no  better 
answer  could  be  obtained  from  the  civil  authorities  than  that 
these  acts  were  imputable  to  none  but  the  monks,  and  that  they 
knew  not  what  to  do  in  the  business. 

A  threatened  invasion  of  Piedmont  by  a  French  army,  under 
the  orders  of  the  marquis  d'Uxel,  in  1628,  gave  an  opportunity 
to  the  Yaudois  to  prove  their  fidelity  to  their  sovereign,  and  to 
receive,  in  their  turn,  a  proof  of  the  full  confidence  they  inspired. 
The  guard  of  many  passes  of  their  mountains,  which  were  par- 
ticularly threatened,  was  intrusted  to  them ;  and  it  was  granted 
to  their  urgent  request  to  serve  alone,  without  being  mixed  with 
other  troops  of  his  highness.  Their  companies  were  all  com- 
manded by  officers  taken  from  their  own  ranks  and  chosen  by 
them ;  the  superior  officers  alone  belonged  to  the  regular  army. 
Only  a  small  number  of  engagements  took  place,  in  which  the 
army  of  Uxel  were  worsted,  and  which  ended  in  his  retreat. 

At  this  period  the  earl  of  Carlisle,  ambassador  from  the  king 
of  Great  Britain  to  the  duke  of  Savoy,  heard  from  the  lips  of  his 
highness  the  testimony  of  his  satisfaction  with  his  faithful  subjects 
of  the  valleys,  while  he  also  avowed  his  fixed  intention  of  giving 
them  proofs  of  it. 

But  though  Charles  Emmanuel  cherished  the  best  sentiments 
towards  the  Vaudois,  the  warm  partisans  of  Rome,  invested  with 
high  dignities,  abused  their  authority  and  the  name  of  their 
prince,  by  secretly  introducing  into  the  valleys  the  irreconcila- 


ATTEMPTS  TO  ESTABLISH  THE  MONKS.  225 

ble  enemies  of  the  evangelical  Church,  the  pope's  light  cavalry, 
the  monks. 

Already  a  similar  attempt  had  been  partially  made  at  the 
end  of  the  last  century,  and  had  led  to  the  settled  establishment 
of  the  capuchins  at  Perrier,  a  popish  town  in  the  valley  of  San 
Marti  no.  But,  this  time,  nothing  less  was  thought  of,  than  to 
endow  every  Vaudois  commune  with  a  convent.  To  gain  the 
consent  of  the  inhabitants,  all  sorts  of  methods  were  adopted 
without  scruple.  At  Bobbio,  intrigue  predominated ;  at  An- 
grogna,  ostentation,  splendour,  and  threats ;  at  Rora,  violence. 
The  prior  of  Lucerna,  Marco  Aurelio  Rorenco,  or  Rorengo,  at 
the  head  of  the  priests,  the  count  of  Lucerna,  the  most  powerful 
of  the  lords  of  the  valley,  and  the  Count  Righino  Roero,  in  the 
name  of  the  government,  spared  no  pains  to  accomplish  their 
object.  They  even  procured  the  interference  of  the  heir  ap- 
parent, the  prince  of  Piedmont,  Victor  Amadeus.  A  letter  was 
sent  in  his  name  to  every  commune,  in  which  he  promised  liberal 
distributions  of  corn  and  rice,  (the  winter  of  1628,  1629,  was 
severe,  and  attended  with  a  general  dearth ;)  for  these  provisions 
and  their  distributors,  who  were  to  be  monks,  he  required  a 
house  to  be  provided  by  the  commune.  But  whatever  effort 
was  made  at  Angrogna,  no  hospitality  could  be  obtained  for 
them,  not  even  for  a  single  night.  After  staying  some  time  at 
Bobbio,  Villaro,  and  Rora,  they  were  obliged  to  yield  to  the 
general  will,  and  depart.  As  they  resisted  expulsion  rather  ob- 
stinately in  the  last-named  place,  some  women  carried  them  a 
part  of  the  road  in  their  arms.  Similar  attempts  proved  abortive 
in  the  valley  of  Perosa,  at  Saint-Germain,  and  Pramol.  Thus 
the  Mass  could  not  be  celebrated  in  any  part  of  the  Vaudois 
communes,  unless,  perhaps,  we  except  San  Giovanni  and  the 
town  of  La  Torre,  in  which  evangelical  worship  was  not  toler- 
ated. In  this  last  place  the  monk  Bonaventure  (whom  Gilles 
calls  the  standard-bearer  of  the  whole  legion)  collected  and  settled 
all  his  fraternity.  It  is  not  unimportant  to  remark  here,  that  at 
this  period  the  Romish,  or  popish  worship,  had  no  officiating 
minister,  nor  temple,  nor  altar,  in  almost  the  whole  region  of  the 
Vaudois  churches  of  the  three  valleys. 

The  valleys  had  scarcely  recovered  from  the  disquiet  which 
the  efforts  of  the  monks  and  their  powerful  protectors  had  ex- 
cited, when  the  arrival  of  a  French  army  before  Pinerolo,  in  the 

10* 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

spring  of  1630,  threw  them  into  the  greatest  perplexity.  Mar- 
shal Schomberg,  who  commanded  it,  required  prompt  submission 
to  his  sovereign.  The  troops  under  his  orders  pillaged  and  laid 
waste  the  accessible  parts  of  the  three  valleys.  He  had  just  re- 
duced Pinerolo  and  its  citadel,  which  had  been  garrisoned  by  the 
Vaudois  militia.  He  already  occupied  Bricherasco,  within  a 
league  of  San  Giovanni,  with  a  thousand  horse  and  fifteen  thou- 
sand foot.  The  last  of  the  four  days  of  deliberation,  granted 
very  reluctantly  to  the  Vaudois,  drew  to  a  close,  and  still  they 
were  deliberating.  The  succour  promised  by  his  highness,  whom 
they  had  informed  of  the  danger,  was  not  arrived ;  on  the  con- 
trary, a  report  was  abroad  that  the  duke  had  drawn  off  his  troops 
behind  the  Po.  By  this  movement  the  valleys  were  given  up 
to  the  enemy.  They  decided,  therefore,  to  submit,  conjointly 
with  their  papist  lords,  though  on  the  condition  that  their  militia 
should  not  be  obliged  to  bear  arms  against  his  highness  out  of 
their  territory.  Among  the  fifteen  articles  of  capitulation,  signed 
and  sworn  to  a  little  after,  there  was  one  which  the  prior  of 
Lucerna,  deputed  by  the  clergy  of  that  valley,  had  attempted 
first  to  exclude,  and  then  to  modify,  but  without  success.  It- 
specified,  that  persons  of  the  reformed  religion  should  enjoy  to 
the  utmost  the  rights  which  were  guaranteed  by  the  edicts  in 
France,  as  to  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  and  that  no  one  should 
trouble  them  in  any  manner  on  account  of  it.  With  these  con- 
ditions the  three  valleys  would  have  scarcely  known  any  other 
evils,  during  the  occupation  of  their  country  by  the  French, 
which  lasted  for  a  year,  excepting  those  occasioned  by  the  con- 
tinual passing  of  troops  from  France  to  Piedmont,  and  the  trans- 
port of  large  military  stores,  if  God  had  not  visited  them  with 
one  of  the  severest  trials  he  had  ever  sent  them — a  contagious 
and  epidemic  malady,  brought,  as  it  appears,  from  France  by 
the  army,  and  designated  a  plague  by  contemporary  histo- 
rians. 

The  first  cases  were  noticed  at  the  beginning  of  May,  1630, 
in  the  valley  of  Perosa ;  then  in  that  of  San  Martino ;  a  littie 
after  in  that  of  Clusone  or  Pragela ;  and  still  later  in  the  valley 
of  Lucerna.  The  pastors  and  deputies  of  the  churches  met  at 
Pramol,  to  concert  measures  against  so  terrible  an  evil,  and 
neglected  nothing  that  could  tend  to  check  its  progress.  They 
provided,  amongst  other  things,  for  the  purchase  of  medicine,  as 


A  DREADFUL  PLAGUE.  227 

well  as  for  regular  and  sufficient  assistance  for  the  poor.  It  was 
also  their  wish  to  celebrate  a  general  and  public  fast ;  but  not 
seeing  how  it  would  be  possible  to  do  it  with  solemnity,  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  bustle  of  troops,  victuallers,  men  of  business,  and 
others  coming  and  going,  they  confined  themselves  to  what  each 
pastor  might  effect  in  his  own  church  by  exhortations  to  repent- 
ance, both  in  public  and  private.  The  malady  extended  its 
ravages,  and  raged  furiously.  In  certain  localities,  all  the  houses 
contained  some  either  dead  or  dying.  The  want  of  provisions, 
which  was  very  sensibly  felt  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  in- 
creased every  day,  and  they  knew  not  where  to  procure  a  supply. 
The  state  of  the  atmosphere  contributed  also  to  extend  the  evil. 
In  July  and  August,  the  heat  was  excessive.  The  latter  month 
was  the  most  disastrous  :  in  that  short  space  of  time,  seven  pas- 
tors were  carried  off  by  the  plague.  Four  others  died  in  the 
preceding  month ;  the  twelfth  died  in  the  following  month,  as  he 
was  preparing  to  set  out  for  Geneva,  whither  he  was  deputed, 
in  order  to  obtain  new  pastors.  There  remained  only  three, 
besides  one  invalid,  eighty  years  old.*  Happily,  by  a  provi- 
dential dispensation,  they  belonged  to  different  valleys ;  so  that 
each  valley  having  its  own  pastor,  neither  was  entirely  destitute 
of  religious  aid ;  and  the  more  so  because,  without  fearing  that 
death  which  continually  threatened  them,  they  multiplied  them- 
selves, so  to  speak,  by  redoubled  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties.  They  travelled  from  village  to  village,  preached  in  the 
open  air  to  the  healthy,  and  visited  hundreds  of  dying  persons 
in  their  homes.  They  were  frequently  called  themselves  to 
watch,  in  their  dwellings,  at  the  bedside  of  beloved  relations. 
The  only  pastor  remaining  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  Pierre 
Gilles,  pastor  of  La  Torre,  (author  of  a  highly- valued  history  of 
the  Vaudois  churches,f  which  we  have  constantly  had  before  us 
in  preparing  the  present  work,)  lost  no  less  than  four  sons,  full 
of  promise. 

Though  the  plague  was  somewhat  diminished  during  the 
winter,  it  broke  out  again  in  the  spring,  and  extended  to  the 
more  elevated  villages,  which  it  had  before  spared.     At  last  it 

*  Antoine  Bonjour,  the  ancient  pastor  of  Pravilhelm. 

t  Histoire  Ecclesiastique  des  Eglises  Reformeesi  recueillies  en  quelques 
vallees  du  Piemont,  autrefois  appelees  Eglises  Vaudoises,  etc.,  par  Pierre 
Gilles,  pasteur  de  la  Tour.    Geneve  :  choz  Jean  de  Tournes,  1644. 


228  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ceased  all  at  once  in  July,  1631 ,  having  lasted  upwards  of  a  year. 
Half  of  the  population  had  disappeared.  The  greater  part  of 
the  husbands  living  had  lost  their  wives,  almost  all  the  married 
women  were  widows,  and  the  unmarried  orphans.  Grandfathers 
and  grandmothers,  laden  with  years,  who  had  before  counted 
with  joy  their  numerous  children  and  grandchildren,  the  support 
and  hope  of  their  old  age,  remained  alone.  The  heart  was 
wrung  at  hearing  the  cries  of  little  beings,  now  orphans,  repeat- 
ing, in  a  sad  and  exhausted  tone,  the  beloved  names  of  their 
parents,  whose  prolonged  absence  they  could  not  account  for. 

The  proportion  of  deaths  was  nearly  the  same  throughout ;  it 
amounted  to  one-half  of  the  population,  both  Vaudois  and 
papists.  The  valley  of  San  Martino  estimated  its  loss  at  fifteen 
hundred  Vaudois,  and  one  hundred  papists ;  that  of  Perosa  at 
more  than  two  thousand  Vaudois ;  the  church  of  Rocheplatte  at 
five  hundred  and  fifty,  which  must  be  added  to  the  preceding. 
The  dead  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  including  those  of  Angrogna, 
amounted  to  about  six  thousand  Vaudois,  of  whom  eight  hun- 
dred were  in  the  commune  of  La  Torre.  This  will  make  a  total 
of  more  than  ten  thousand  Vaudois  carried  off  in  one  year  by 
the  mortality.  A  considerable  number  of  families  became  en- 
tirely extinct.  We  have  not  reckoned  the  foreigners  in  the 
valleys,  who  had  come  in  quest  of  the  pure  mountain  air  to  pro- 
long their  lives,  and  obtained  nothing  from  the  soil  but  a  grave. 
Hundreds  more  lost  their  lives.  Soldiers,  sutlers,  poor  persons, 
whom  the  plague  had  struck  with  death  in  by-paths,  lay  there, 
infecting  the  air  with  their  corpses.  In  various  places,  they  set 
fire  to  the  houses,  containing  several  dead  persons,  rather  than 
inter  them.  Towards  the  end  of  the  autumn,  in  many  parts  of 
the  country,  might  be  seen  corn  in  tlje  fields,  grapes  on  the  vines, 
and  all  kinds  of  fruit  in  the  gardens,  going  to  decay,  because 
there  was  no  one  to  gather  or  get  them  in.  Excellent  lands  re- 
mained fallow.  The  wages  of  labourers  rose  prodigiously,  on 
account  of  the  scarcity  of  hands. 

In  the  midst  of  so  many  evils,  one  thing  alone,  but  that  the 
best,  prospered — "  godliness ;"  that  precious  fruit  which  hath  the 
"  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come." 
"  The  zeal  of  the  people,"  says  Gilles,  in  his  simple  language, 
"  to  be  present  at  the  preaching  in  the  open  country,  here  or 
there,  was  very  great :  and  every  one  marvelled  and  praised 


RETURN  OF  PROSPERITY.  229 

God  for  the  help  he  gave  us  amidst  such  sharp  and  terrible 
afflictions." 

During  the  plague,  the  death  of  the  Duke  Charles  Emmanuel 
occurred.  He  had  reigned  fifty  years,  and  had  generally  shown 
himself  favourable  to  his  faithful  Vaudois  subjects ;  as  much  at 
least  as  the  incessant  intrigues  of  their  enemies  would  allow. 

The  news  of  the  peace  concluded  between  the  king  of  France 
and  the  duke  of  Savoy  came  also  to  revive  their  spirits,  which 
had  been  cast  down  by  so  many  successive  shocks.  The  valleys, 
towards  the  close  of  the  year,  came  again  under  the  dominion 
of  the  house  of  Savoy,  with  the  exception  of  that  portion  of  the 
valley  of  Perosa  which  is  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Clu- 
sone,  which  was  left  to  the  French,  as  well  as  Finerolo. 

It  seemed  that  war  and  pestilence,  those  scourges  of  God, 
being  once  removed  from  these  plains  and  desolated  valleys?  it 
would  be  possible  for  the  survivors  to  recover  gradually  from 
their  sufferings,  allay  their  fears,  and  again  enjoy  some  days  of 
calm  and  peace.  And  so  it  was.  All  ties  were  re-established, 
and  new  ones  were  formed  by  numerous  marriages.  So  many 
persons  left  alone  in  the  world  drew  near  to  each  other,  and 
sought  for  mutual  consolation.  Labour  resumed  its  activity, 
words  of  hope  were  heard  on  the  high  Alps,  among  the  groups 
reclining  under  the  shade  of  the  lofty  chestnut-trees,  in  their 
leisure  hours,  or  as  they  sat  round  the  blazing  fire  in  their  cot- 
tages at  nightfall. 

But  their  troubles  were  not  yet  over.  The  youthful  genera- 
tion, which  had  escaped  from  the  plague,  had  again  to  bear  all 
that  the  most  cruel  barbarity  could  invent.  Meanwhile,  it  was 
being  trained  to  patience,  in  the  midst  of  previous  vexations  and 
intrigues,  either  concealed  or  avowed,  which  we  shall  proceed  to 
narrate  in  the  following  chapter.* 

*  For  the  narrative  of  this  chapter,  see  Gilles,  ch.  xxx-lx. 


230  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   VAUDOIS,   CALUMNIATED  AT   COURT,    ARE  MISUNDERSTOOD 
AND  ILL-TREATED. 

The  first  care  of  the  Vaudois  churches,  in  1631,  on  their  being 
placed  again  under  the  rule  of  the  house  of  Savoy,  was  to  send 
a  deputation  to  his  highness  Victor  Amadeus  I.,  commissioned 
to  request,  after  offering  their  homage  and  congratulations,  the 
general  confirmation  of  their  privileges,  and  in  particular  of  the 
favours  and  concessions  granted  by  his  august  father,  in  the 
year  1603,  and  confirmed  in  1620.  This  step  was  not  only  dicta- 
ted by  propriety ;  it  was  become  indispensable,  on  account  of  the 
virulence  with  which  the  priests  and  other  papists  sought  to  in- 
jure them,  and  accused  them  to  his  highness.  Success  was 
delayed.  The  deputies  were,  it  is  true,  received  with  kindness 
by  their  sovereign,  but  the  confirmation  of  their  privileges  was 
deferred  till  after  the  examination  of  some  points  which  they 
were  accused  of  having  transgressed  or  neglected.  But  although 
it  was  easy  to  explain  the  facts  in  question,  months  and  years 
passed  away  without  their  being  able  to  obtain  the  desired  confir- 
mation. The  commissioners  delegated  by  the  court  had  evidently 
concerted  to  stifle  or  conceal  the  truth,  with  the  intriguing 
papists  who  stirred  the  fire,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  Rorenco, 
or  Rorengo,  the  zealous  prior  of  Lucerna.  These  men,  blinded 
by  passion,  were  always  raising  fresh  difficulties. 

They  maintained  that  the  residence  of  the  Vaudois  in  Lucerna 
was  of  recent  date,  although  the  oldest  papists  of  the  place  were 
ready  to  bear  witness,  that  from  their  earliest  infancy  they  had 
seen  the  same  families  established  there,  whose  domicile  was  now 
disputed.  It  is  true,  and  we  have  remarked  it  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  that  for  some  years  they  had  forced  the  Vaudois  to  leave 
this  town,  whither  they  afterwards  returned  to  settle.  The 
right  of  residence  was  equally  contested  in  reference  to  the 
Vaudois  of  Campiglione,  Fenile,  and  Bibbiana.  Nevertheless, 
the  demonstration  of  their  rights  was  easy.  They  had  on  their 
side  the  fact  of  uninterrupted  residence,  and  the  letter  of  the 
treaty  of  1561,  which,  without  naming,  sufficiently  pointed  them 
out,  as  moreover  was  proved  by  the  lists  then  forwarded  to  the 
Count  de  Raconis. 


UNJUST  COMPLAINTS  AGAINST  THEM.  281 

The  same  adversaries  charged  it  as  a  crime  on  the  Vaudois, 
that  they  had  purchased  the  property  of  Soman  Catholics ; 
while  they  could  prove  their  right  by  a  great  number  of  ancient 
as  well  as  modern  deeds,  documents  perfectly  regular,  drawn 
up  by  notaries  and  sanctioned  by  judges,  both  of  the  Roman 
religion.  Lastly,  they  seemed  to  dislike  the  employment  of 
evangelical  schoolmasters,  as  if  this  had  been  a  novelty  in  the 
valleys,  though  it  could  be  proved  that  the  Vaudois  churches 
had  had  them  from  the  remotest  antiquity.  The  particular  ob- 
ject these  intriguing  papists  had  in  view,  on  this  last  point,  was 
to  substitute  their  monks  for  the  evangelical  schoolmasters. 
There  was  nothing,  down  to  the  modest  and  single  church-bell 
of  San  Giovanni,  which  these  intermeddling  papists  did  not 
make  a  point  of  dispute.  They  wanted  nothing  less  than  to 
reduce  this  bell  to  silence,  or  to  confiscate  it  for  their  own  use, 
that  they  might  ring  it  on  their  holidays,  to  the  great  annoyance 
of  the  Vaudois.  But  the  people  of  San  Giovanni,  who  from 
ancient  times  had  made  use  of  it  for  their  meetings  and  for  other 
purposes,  defended  their  right  to  it  so  well  that  it  could  not  be 
withheld.  They  had  hoped  to  obtain  as  full  success  on  other 
points,  but  Fauzon,  the  duke's  commissioner,  listened  more 
readily  to  the  insidious  discourses  of  the  papists  than  to  the  voice 
of  justice.  They  even  made  a  difficulty  of  allowing  M.  Etienne 
Mondon,  the  only  Vaudois  of  his  profession  who  had  escaped 
the  plague,  to  practise  as  a  notary,  and  refused  to  admit  any 
other  to  this  office,  which,  nevertheless,  they  had  filled  from 
time  immemorial.  The  brothers  Goz,  (Gos,)  one  a  doctor  of 
law,  the  other  of  medicine,  both  refugees  from  the  marquisate 
of  Saluzzo,  had  just  been  directed  by  the  duke  to  remove  out  of 
La  Torre  and  the  valley  of  Lucerna.  What  well-founded  hope 
of  obtaining  the  ducal  sanction  for  the  ancient  concessions  could 
be  maintained,  when  intolerance  was  seen  to  threaten  every- 
thing, and  to  give  already  palpable  proofs  of  its  return  ?  It  was 
useless  to  expect  the  letters  patent  which  had  been  solicited. 
They  were  not  forwarded. 

So  far  from  it,  the  persecution  which  openly  raged  against  the 
Vaudois  of  Saluzzo,*  who  were  then  under  the  same  prince, 

*  All  these  difficulties  and  pretensions  disclose  a  settled  design  to  oppress  and 
intimidate  the  Vaudois  more  and  more,  and  finally  to  destroy  them.  Every  act 
of  persecution  was  a  step  in  advance  towards  this  crisis. 


232  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

served  to  enlighten  those  of  the  three  valleys  respecting  the 
nature  of  the  designs  that  were  forming  against  them.  In  the 
mountains  of  Saluzzo,  towards  the  sources  of  the  Po,  at  the  foot 
of  Mount  Viso,  there  were  left  some  remains  of  the  ancient 
Vaudois  churches.  Their  isolation  in  these  elevated  glens,  their 
possession  of  the  soil  from  time  immemorial,  their  peaceable 
manners,  and  their  calm  but  determined  resistance  to  popish 
seductions,  as  well  as  attempts  at  oppression,  had  preserved 
them  from  the  ruin  which  had  overtaken  all  the  other  churches 
in  the  marquisate.  Pravilhelm,  Biolets,  Bietone,  and  some  other 
places  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pa'isana,  still  rejoiced  in  the  pure 
light  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  the  plague  had  reduced 
their  numbers  one-half.  Their  resistance  could  no  longer  be 
apprehended.  An  edict,  dated  September  23,  1633,  left  them 
only  the  choice  between  popery  and  exile.  Two  months  were 
allowed  them  to  dispose  of  their  property  and  leave  the  country, 
if  they  would  not  abjure. 

They  and  their  friends  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna  solicited,  but 
in  vain,  the  withdrawal  or  modification  of  the  edict.  The  Bishop 
of  Saluzzo,  a  great  orator,  came  to  Pa'isana,  and  attempted  to 
move  the  principal  persons  whom  he  had  sent  for  by  fair 
speeches ;  but  fidelity  to  God  rose  superior,  in  these  sincere 
hearts,  to  the  calculations  of  interest  and  the  love  of  their  native 
country.  Although  the  fatal  term  approached  without  their 
having  effected  the  sale  of  their  houses  and  lands,  and  winter 
was  just  at  hand,  almost  all  made  up  their  minds  to  depart. 
Their  brethren  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna  held  out  their  arms  to 
them.  They  began  their  march,  taking  with  them  their  cattle, 
and  whatever  else  could  be  carried  away.  They  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  villages  and  hamlets  of  their  friends  and 
brethren,  and  there  heard  of  the  demolition  of  their  ancient 
dwellings  by  the  monks  of  Pa'isana.  All  hope  of  return  was 
thus  taken  from  them.  This  odious  act  was  superfluous.  The 
Vaudois  of  Saluzzo  felt  themselves  stronger,  and  consequently 
happier,  for  their  union  with  those  of  Lucerna.  As  they  heard 
the  approaching  thunders  of  persecution,  and  beheld  the  Romish 
lightnings  flash  around  them,  they  and  their  brethren  had  a  pre- 
sentiment of  the  Divine  goodness  for  their  common  safety,  in 
their  being  thus  brought  together. 

Two  of  their  number,  having  returned,  a  little  while  after,  to 


DISPUTATIONS  WITH  THE  PRIESTS.  233 

attend  to  their  affairs  in  the  marquisatc,  were  recognized  and 
imprisoned.  One,  named  Julian,  redeemed  himself  by  a  con- 
siderable ransom ;  the  other,  named  Peillon,  died  in  the  galleys, 
steadfast  in  the  faith.  Of  all  the  enemies  of  the  Vaudois,  none 
were  more  active,  and  none  more  formidable,  than  the  priests 
and  monks,  as  we  have  already  seen.  They  were  especially  so 
at  the  period  now  under  our  review.  From  them  proceeded 
the  opposition  to  the  renewal  and  observance  of  the  concessions 
and  privileges  already  granted  to  the  Vaudois.  Among  all  these 
ecclesiastics,  none  made  themselves  so  conspicuous  as  the  prior 
of  Lucerna,  Marcus  Aurelius  Rorenco,  and  the  prefect  of  the 
monks,  Theodore  Belvedere.  To  attain  their  end  more  surely, 
by  influencing  the  public  opinion,  they  had  recourse  to  the 
press.  The  former,  Rorenco,  published,  in  1632,  under  the  title 
of  Breve  Narrazione,  etc.,  ("  A  brief  Narrative  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  Heresy  into  the  Valleys,")  a  book  which  calumniated  the 
religion  and  lives  of  the  reformed  Christians,  and  especially  the 
Vaudois.  He  had  collected  in  it  the  edicts  against  the  Vaudois, 
extorted,  in  fact,  from  their  sovereign  by  the  manoeuvres  of  their 
enemies,  and,  for  the  most  part,  revoked  shortly  after,  by  the 
justice  and  enlightened  benevolence  of  the  princes  of  Savoy; 
and  although  the  author  spoke  of  certain  concessions  made  to 
the  Vaudois,  he  did  so  only  in  an  unconnected,  incomplete,  and 
partial  manner.  The  pastor  Valere  Gros  prepared  an  answer, 
which  was  never  printed,  owing  to  the  perfidious  advice  of  some 
false  popish  friends,  and  particularly  the  commissioners  dele- 
gated to  the  valleys,  who  asserted  that  it  was  not  necessary, 
since  their  adversary's  book  had  made  a  very  slight  impression 
in  high  quarters  ;  which  was  false. 

Rorenco,  encouraged  by  this  success,  published,  in  1634,  in 
concert  with  Belvedere,  the  prefect  of  the  monks,  Des  Lettres 
Apoloye'tiques,  ("  Apologetic  Letters,")  exhibiting  but  little 
knowledge  or  little  conscience,  which  abounded  with  raillery 
against  the  Vaudois,  because  they  could  not  answer  what  was  in 
the  first  book.  On  this  occasion,  the  historian  Pierre  Gilles, 
pastor  of  La  Torre,  entered  the  lists.  He  refuted  the  two  pre- 
ceding books  in  his  Considerations  sur  les  Lettres  Apologetiques, 
("  Considerations  on  the  Apologetic  Letters.")  The  two  popish 
authors  replied,  in  1636,  by  a  Latin  work,  with  a  very  pompous 
title.     Who  could  resist  this  "  Tower  against  Damascus,"  this 


234  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

"  Fortress  of  the  Roman  Church  against  the  incursions  of  the 
Calvinists  ?"  Such  boldness  was  reserved  for  the  same  soldier 
of  Christ,  against  whom  particularly  the  Romish  shafts  had  been 
discharged.  Gilles  published,  in  opposition  to  "  The  Tower 
against  Damascus,"  his  work,  entitled,  "  The  Evangelical 
Tower,"  solid  and  well  built  on  the  true  foundation,  on  the 
corner-stone,  which  is  Christ.  The  prefect  of  the  monks  pub- 
lished, lastly,  a  work  in  Italian,  dedicated  to  the  Congregation 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  at  Rome,  on  the  state  of  the 
Vaudois  Church,  on  their  discipline,  doctrine,  and  ceremonies  ; 
a  book  stuffed  with  lies  and  calumnies,  in  which  he  obliquely 
insinuated  the  necessity  of  their  extermination.  Gilles  refuted 
this  also,  with  care,  chapter  by  chapter,  in  a  work  of  deep  and 
minute  investigation.  But  the  accusations  were  better  received 
by  Italian  readers  than  their  refutation,  and,  lamentable  to  say, 
secretly  excited  them  to  hatred  and  persecution.  Who  can  say 
how  far  these  monkish  productions  paved  the  way  for  the  great 
and  dreadful  persecution  which  broke  forth  some  years  later  ? 

An  edict  similar  to  that  which  had  expelled  the  Vaudois  of 
Pravilhelm,  Biolets,  and  Bietone,  from  their  villages,  now  spread 
terror  through  the  valley  of  Lucerna.  The  few  Vaudois  fami- 
lies residing  at  Campiglione,  a  town  in  the  plain,  still  included 
in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  received  an  order  to  leave  their  homes 
finally,  within  four-and-twenty  hours,  and  to  retire  elsewhere, 
under  pain  of  death  and  the  confiscation  of  their  goods.  All 
obeyed,  and  Campiglione  no  longer  numbered  a  Vaudois  among 
its  inhabitants.  Many  families  also  quitted  Bibbiana  at  the 
same  time. — Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  63. 

Animated  disputes,  either  by  word  of  mouth  or  in  writing, 
were  carried  on  from  time  to  time.  Public  discussions  also 
took  place  by  the  instigation  of  the  fiery  Rorenco  and  a  monk 
sent  from  Rome.  These  were  regarded  by  the  pastors  and  the 
faithful  Vaudois,  as  omens  that  their  inveterate  enemies  were 
preparing  for  ruder  attacks,  as  sudden  showers  show  the  ap- 
proach of  tempestuous  weather. 

The  sky  was  soon  completely  overcast.  Besides  the  difficul- 
ties which  the  busy  hatred  of  the  popish  clergy  was  continually 
raising,  the  debates  on  religion,  the  obstacles  to  individual  pros- 
perity, and  to  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  homes,  consecrated 
by  long  use  and  the  concessions  of  their  sovereigns,  the  hin- 


POLITICAL  AND  CIVIL  DIFFICULTIES.  235 

drances,  above  all,  to  the  instruction  of  the  young,  and  to  the 
exercise  of  religious  liberty  in  certain  communes, — besides  all 
these  impediments,  which  were  objects  of  great  solicitude  to  the 
conductors  of  the  churches,  there  were  added  political  and  civil 
difficulties  of  immense  weight.  The  duke,  Victor  Amadeus  1., 
died  in  October,  1637.  The  regency  of  his  son,  a  boy  five 
years  old,  which  had  been  committed  to  his  widow  Christina  of 
France,  was  claimed  by  the  cardinal  Maurice  of  Savoy,  aided 
by  his  brother  Thomas,  both  brothers  of  the  deceased,  and  con- 
sequently uncles  of  the  young  prince.  These  princes,  being- 
supported  by  Spain,  seized  on  Piedmont.  Even  Turin  opened 
its  gates  to  them.  The  duchess  and  her  children  crossed  the 
Alps,  and  took  refuge  in  Savoy.  The  cause  of  the  regent 
mother  seemed  lost  in  Piedmont.  It  was  at  this  critical  moment, 
when  all  had  abandoned  it  on  this  side  of  the  Alps,  that  the 
valleys,  maintaining,  even  in  the  misfortunes  of  their  sovereign, 
their  traditionary  fidelity,  declared  their  firm  resolution  to  up- 
hold the  rights  of  their  duke  and  his  mother.  For  this  they 
were  cruelly  treated,  especially  the  inhabitants  of  Lucerna,  by 
their  lord  the  Marquis  of  Lucerna  and  Angrogna,  who  had 
taken  sides  with  the  princes  Maurice  and  Thomas.  Expecting 
to  be  attacked  by  the  joint  armies  of  the  princes  and  of  Spain, 
they  thought  it  their  duty  to  take  precautionary  measures,  to 
preserve  themselves  for  their  sovereign ;  in  particular,  they 
created  military  officers.  Owing  to  this  energetic  attitude,  they 
were  not  attacked,  and  even  rendered  eminent  service  to  their 
prince  ;  for  they  kept  open  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  by  which  the 
French  army,  under  the  order  of  Count  Harcourt  and  Marshal 
Turenne,  penetrated  into  Piedmont,  and  having  driven  out  the 
Spanish  army,  procured  peace,  and  put  the  young  duke,  under 
the  regency  of  his  mother,  in  full  possession  of  his  dominions.* 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  regent  felt  much  indebted  to  the 
Vaudois  valleys  for  their  fidelity,  or  that  she  so  much  as  noticed 
it.  For  scarcely  was  she  again  in  possession  of  power  than  her 
government  began  to  treat  them  with  rigour.  Perhaps  it  was 
found  easier  to  revive  the  traditionary  method  of  persecution 
than  to  enter  on  the  untrodden  path  of  justice  and  truth.  There 
are,  moreover,  persons  to  whom  gratitude  is  not  considered  as 

*  Leger,  pt.  ii,  pp.  69,  70.— Gilles,  whom  we  have  preferred  to  follow  hitherto, 
closes  his  history  in  the  year  1643.     For  the  future  we  follow  Leger. 


236  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

due,  and  who  are  treated  harshly  just  because  their  oppressors 
are  unwilling  to  acknowledge  their  obligations  to  them. 

The  temple  of  San  Giovanni,  which  had  been  re-opened,  was 
again  closed.  A  commissioner  was  sent  to  drive  away  to  the 
left  bank  of  the  Pelice  all  the  Vaudois  who  were  settled  on  the 
right  bank,  at  the  opening  of  the  valley,  at  Lucerna,  Bibbiana, 
and  Fenile,  and  to  make  those  who  were  established  at  Briche- 
rasco*  return  within  the  limits.  One  of  the  pastors,  Antoine 
Leger,  uncle  of  the  historian,  who  had  taken  the  most  active  part 
in  the  measures  of  defence  in  favour  of  the  regency  of  the  duchess 
against  the  princes  of  Savoy,  was  cited  to  appear  before  the  tri- 
bunal at  Turin.  Being  warned  in  time  that  his  life  was  aimed 
at,  he  did  not  go  there ;  and  notwithstanding  the  efforts  made 
on  his  behalf  by  the  churches  and  many  persons  of  distinction 
who  esteemed  him,  he  was  sentenced  to  death  for  contumacy,  and 
his  property  confiscated.  A  victim  of  his  fidelity,  he  left  his 
country  forever  and  betook  himself  to  Geneva,  the  city  of  Pro- 
testant refugees,  where  he  was  appointed  pastor  and  professor 
of  theology  and  the  oriental  languages-!  It  may  be  noticed,  in 
passing,  that  the  adversaries  of  the  Vaudois  made  it  a  part  of 
their  system  to  get  rid  of  every  man  of  eminence  who  appeared 
in  the  valleys.  By  this  sentence  of  death  pronounced  against 
the  most  distinguished  person  that  the  Vaudois  churches  pos- 
sessed, they  were  deprived  of  an  able,  prudent,  and  pious  coun- 
sellor at  the  very  juncture  when  he  was  most  needed.  The  times, 
in  fact,  were  more  serious  than  ever,  for  a  board  specially  charged 
with  taking  cognizance  of  heresy  had  just  been  formed  at  Turin 
by  the  regent.  Cardinal  Maurice  of  SavoyJ  was  the  president, 
and  the  archbishop  of  Turin  vice-president.  It  was,  no  doubt, 
by  desire  of  this  board,  ordinarily  called  by  the  simple  designa- 
tion of  II  Congresso,  (The  Congress,)  that  the  duchess  published, 
in  1644,  the  regulations  respecting  the  honours  due  to  the  cru- 
cifix, the  keeping  of  holidays,  the  burials  of  the  Vaudois,  etc. ; 
and  she  delegated,  in  1646,  the  prior  Rorenco,  to  re-establish  in 

*  At  this  time  there  were  forty-seven  Vaudois  families  at  Lucerna  and  its 
neighbourhood ;  thirty-five  at  Bibbiana ;  thirty-three  at  Fenile  ;  and  nine  at 
Bricherasco.    (See  Memoire  de  Rorenco,  Storia  di  Pinerolo,  t.  iii,  p.  201.) 

t  Leger  had  been  tutor  in  the  family  of  the  ambassador  of  Holland,  at  Con- 
stantinople, for  many  years. 

t  We  may  infer  that  the  cardinal  had  withdrawn  from  the  regency,  by  im- 
posing conditions  on  Christina. 


UNJUST  AND  CRUEL  ORDERS.  237 

the  valley  of  Lucerna  the  ruined  churches,  (popish  churches 
which  had  never  existed  but  in  the  imagination  of  the  friends  of 
Rome.)  The  board  underwent  a  transformation  some  time  after 
the  jubilee  of  1650,  when  the  Council  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith  and  the  Extirpation  of  Heretics,  sitting  at  Rome,  decided 
on  the  formation  of  auxiliary  councils  of  the  same  name  in  the 
metropolitan  cities,  in  some  of  which  the  parliaments  also  held 
their  sittings. 

The  Council  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  the  Extir- 
pation of  Heretics  had  its  seat  at  Turin,  under  the  presidency 
of  the  archbishop,  and  in  his  palace.  But  the  most  active  and 
influential  member  of  this  assembly  was  a  layman, — a  lord  of  the 
court,  the  marquis  Pianezza,  one  of  the  most  crafty  and  cruel  of 
men.  His  wife  presided  at  the  female  committee,  and  impressed 
upon  it  an  activity  equal  to  that  of  her  husband. 

No  sooner  was  it  constituted,  than  the  new  council  set  itself 
vigorously  to  work.  Severe  orders,  or,  to  speak  more  truly,  un- 
just and  cruel  orders  were  drawn  up  and  submitted  to  Charles 
Emmanuel  n.  for  signature.  This  inexperienced  prince, — only 
sixteen  years  old,  but  declared  of  age  two  years  before,  in  1648, 
— was  under  the  direct  influence  of  his  mother,  who  approved 
of  these  oppressive  measures.  A  compliant  magistrate,  the  au- 
ditor Andrea  Gastaldo,  was  chosen,  and  sent  to  the  valleys  to  put 
them  into  execution.  According  to  his  instructions,  which  have 
been  preserved,  he  was  to  drive  back  to  the  mountains  the  whole 
Vaudois  population,  not  only  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Pelice, 
where  they  formed  the  minority,  but  also  in  the  large  commune 
of  San  Giovanni,  where  they  constituted  almost  the  whole,  and 
in  the  town  of  La  Torre,  where  they  were  the  majority.  He  was 
to  confiscate  all  the  lands  and  houses  in  these  places  which  their 
Vaudois  possessors  had  not  disposed  of  to  the  papists  within  fifteen 
days,  unless  they  became  papists  themselves ;  in  that  case  their 
goods  would  be  restored  to  them.  Every  Vaudois  who  bore  fire- 
arms was  to  be  treated  as  a  criminal.  The  communes  of  An- 
grogna,  Villaro,  Bobbio,  Rora,  etc.,  were  to  furnish,  within  the 
term  of  three  days,  a  house,  where  the  missionary  fathers  might 
lodge  and  celebrate  mass.  Finally,  the  communes  were  to  be  pro- 
hibited from  granting  a  dwelling  to  any  foreign  heretic,  under  pain 
of  a  fine  on  the  commune  of  two  thousand  gold  crowns,  and  of 
death  and  confiscation  of  his  property,  to  the  foreigner.     By  this 


238  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

last  measure  they  hoped  to  deprive  the  valleys  of  pastors,  for  the 
future  at  least.  These  orders  bore  the  date  of  May  15,  1650, 
and  the  signature  of  the  duke  Charles  Emmanuel. — Storia  di  Pi- 
nerolo,  etc.,  t.  iii,  pp.  212-216. 

The  auditor  Gastaldo  began  to  fulfil  his  commission  with  bru- 
tality, granting  in  his  manifesto  only  three  days  to  the  Vaudois 
in  the  denounced  localities,  to  choose  between  death  and  dis- 
possession, or  abjuration. — Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  73.  This  part  of  the 
decree  was  nevertheless  not  carried  into  effect  at  that  time ;  for 
which  delay  we  can  suppose  no  other  reason  than  the  difficulty 
of  accomplishing  this  barbarous  work ;  the  means  of  coercion  not 
being  yet  sufficiently  prepared,  and  also  the  preference  that  was 
given  to  the  establishment  of  the  monks  and  of  the  popish  wor- 
ship in  all  the  communes.  The  other  part  of  the  orders  of  the 
board  was  fully  and  promptly  executed,  to  the  great  sorrow  of 
all  the  faithful.  Rora,  Angrogna,  Villaro,  and  Bobbio  saw  the 
zealous  satellites  of  the  pope  established  in  the  heart  of  their  popu- 
lation, and  the  office  of  the  mass,  so  hateful  to  the  Vaudois,  ac- 
quire a  firm  footing  there.  Henceforward,  on  this  soil,  sanctified 
from  time  immemorial  by  the  word  of  truth,  by  the  pure  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  error  would  have  its  ritual  and 
idolatry  its  altars  :  the  true  worshippers  of  God  would  see  walk- 
ing in  their  midst  the  priests  of  images  and  saints,  the  suppliants 
of  Mary :  they  must  be  doomed  to  hear  that  incense  is  agreeable 
to  God,  and  that  Latin  litanies  and  chants  are  the  prayers  and 
songs  that  he  delights  in.  Those  whom  the  splendour  of  a  pom- 
pous and  outward  ritual  could  not  seduce,  were  to  be  allured  by 
the  promise  of  the  pardon  of  their  sins  after  confession,  or  won 
over  by  money,  flatteries,  and  worldly  honours ;  and  those  who 
were  not  carried  away  by  the  example  of  their  brethren,  threats, 
fines,  prisons,  torture,  and  the  sword  would  reduce  to  silence. 
In  a  few  months,  at  least  in  a  few  years,  the  victory  of  the  pope 
would  be  complete.* 

Such  were  the  hopes  of  the  Council  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith  and  the  Extirpation  of  Heretics.  But  it  was  soon  seen 
that  all  the  means  of  persuasion,  seduction,  and  intimidation, 
had  no  effect  on  men  so  enlightened  and  conscientious  as  were 
the  leaders  of  the  churches,  or  on  the  main  body  of  the  Vaudois, 
whom  their  traditions  of  fidelity  to  the  gospel,  and  sound  reli- 
*  Rome  always  cherishes  such  hopes. 


COUNCIL  FOR  THE  PROPAGATION  OF  FAITH,  ETC.    239 

gious  instruction,  had  fortified  generally  against  apostasy.  The 
Council  not  succeeding  in  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  the  first 
purpose  and  object  of  its  labours,  decided  on  attempting  the  se- 
cond, the  Extirpation  of  Heretics.  Nothing  was  wanting  but  to 
seize  a  favourable  opportunity,  or  to  make  one,  if  it  did  not  offer  it- 
self. In  the  space  of  some  years,  the  council  created  several,  of 
which  we  shall  give  an  account,  but  which  did  not  produce  all 
the  results  desired,  until  the  day  when  these  men,  panting  for 
blood,  found  at  last  the  means  of  quenching  their  burning  thirst 
in  the  streams  which  they  caused  to  flow. 

The  first  favourable  occasion  which  the  council  thought  they 
had  found  for  the  extirpation  of  the  Yaudois  had  been  contrived 
at  Villaro,  by  a  creature  of  the  marquis  of  Pianezza,  named 
Michel  Bertram  Villeneuve.  This  man  had  been  saved  by 
this  lord  from  prison,  from  which  his  father,  who  had  been  ac- 
cused, like  himself,  of  coining  base  money,  had  escaped  only  by 
poisoning  himself.  Being  settled  at  Villaro,  and  pretending  a 
lively  indignation  at  the  introduction  of  the  monks  and  their 
officers  into  that  town,  he  excited  the  people  to  violence  in  an 
underhand  manner,  constantly  repeating  that  such  a  nest  of 
vipers  as  these  fathers  should  not  be  allowed  in  a  place  where 
no  one  could  recollect  having  seen  a  papist  reside,  much  less 
their  missionaries.  He  played  his  part  so  well  that  the  pastor's 
wife  and  two  persons  of  respectability  in  the  place,  named 
Joseph  and  Daniel  Pelenc,  ardent  young  men,  adopted  these 
views,  and  at  last  induced  the  pastor,  named  Manget,  to  coincide 
with  them ;  who,  nevertheless,  was  not  disposed  to  act  excepting 
so  far  as  the  churches  of  the  valley  might  give  their  consent. 
With  this  view,  he  requested  the  moderator,  or  ecclesiastical 
president  of  the  managing  committee  of  the  Vaudois  churches, 
to  assemble  the  deputies  of  the  communes  and  the  pastors,  for 
an  important  object.  The  assembly  was  held  at  Bouisses,  in  the 
commune  of  La  Torre,  March  28,  1G53.  They  heard  with  sur- 
prise Manget's  proposition  to  drive  away  the  monks  from  Villaro, 
those  insolent  strangers,  whose  convent,  a  focus  of  intrigues,  and 
unjustly  established,  might,  if  it  met  with  no  opposition,  become 
a  fire  as  dangerous  to  the  Vaudois  Church  as  it  was  hostile  to  it. 
But,  though  experiencing  much  annoyance  from  the  presence 
and  attempts  of  the  monks,  the  assembly  did  not  relish  his  pro- 
posal, nor  the  expedient  by  which  he  wished  to  render  this  at- 


240  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

tempt  less  culpable,  which  consisted  in  committing  it  to  the 
women.  Jean  Leger,  pastor  of  San  Giovanni,  who  became 
known  at  a  later  period  by  his  history  of  the  Vaudois  churches, 
showed  himself  worthy  of  the  confidence  which  the  people  placed 
in  him  by  calling  him,  though  still  young,  (he  was  only'thirty- 
eight,)  to  the  difficult  and  important  post  of  moderator.  Leger, 
as  a  faithful  subject,  demonstrated  the  injustice  of  the  proposed 
measure,  by  citing  the  19th  article  of  the  treaty  of  1561,  which 
reserved  to  the  prince  the  liberty  of  having  mass  celebrated  in 
places  where  there  was  preaching,  without  at  all  obliging  the 
Vaudois  to  be  present  at  it. 

Nevertheless,  the  imprudent  Manget,  carried  away  by  a  bitter 
zeal,  and  blind  to  the  consequences  of  a  criminal  enterprise, 
agreed  to  the  expulsion  of  the  monks,  whom  his  friends,  mis- 
guided like  himself,  terrified  that  same  evening ;  and  his  wife  so 
far  forgot  herself  as  to  carry  to  the  infuriated  men  the  matches 
for  setting  fire  to  the  bundles  of  hemp  that  were  heaped  together 
on  purpose,  which  soon  spread  the  fire  and  consumed  the  con- 
vent. 

The  unfortunate  pastor  of  Villaro  had  allowed  his  imprudence 
and  bad  faith  to  go  so  far  as  to  make  his  headstrong  friends  be- 
lieve that  the  assembly  of  Bouisses  had  approved  and  ordered 
the  expulsion  of  the  monks  and  the  burning  of  their  residence. 
This  report  spread  from  place  to  place,  with  the  news  of  the 
event  of  which  it  was  the  commentary.  In  this  way  it  reached 
the  ears  of  the  formidable  Marquis  Pianezza,  and  his  associates 
of  the  council  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith  and  the  extirpa- 
tion of  heretics.  They  appeared  as  much  irritated  as  they  must 
secretly  have  been  gratified.  They  had  at  last  an  opportunity  ; 
here  was  not  only  a  pretext,  but  a  reason,  a  motive  as  plausible 
as  just,  for  inflicting  punishment.  The  punishment  ought  to  be 
proportioned  to  the  offence.  Utter  ruin  would  not  be  too  great 
a  chastisement  for  incorrigible  men  who,  after  having  resisted 
the  appeals  of  the  Romish  Church,  had  outraged  her  ministers, 
profaned  her  mysteries,  and  burned  her  holy  places;  and,  in 
fact,  the  duchess  gave  instant  orders  to  assemble  all  the  troops 
of  the  State,  and  forthwith  despatched  Colonel  Tedesco,  an  en- 
terprising and  courageous  officer,  at  the  head  of  five  or  six  thou- 
sand troops,  (both  horse  and  foot,)  to  surprise  the  populous  town 
of  Villaro  and  reduce  it  to  ashes. 


JEAN  LEGER,  THE  MODERATOR.        241 

On  his  part,  the  young  and  prudent  moderator  had  no  sooner 
heard  the  reports  which  attributed  to  the  conference  at  Bouisses 
the  order  to  burn  the  convent  and  expel  the  monks,  than  he 
went,  accompanied  by  the  principal  persons  of  his  church,  and 
of  those  in  the  neighbourhood,  to  the  magistrate  of  the  valley 
who  resided  at  Lucerna,  and  there  protested  his  innocence,  and 
that  of  his  colleagues  and  the  entire  conference,  and  even  of  the 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Villaro ;  the  deplorable  acts  of  ex- 
pulsion and  incendiarism  having  been  committed  both  by  the 
will  and  act  of  only  a  small  number  of  offenders.  Leger  and 
the  deputies,  his  colleagues,  offered,  in  the  name  of  their 
churches,  to  render  every  assistance  in  bringing  the  criminal 
parties  to  punishment.  They  begged,  in  return,  that  favour 
might  be  shown  to  the  innocent.  These  declarations,  drawn  up 
as  an  authentic  act,  were  taken  at  the  same  time  to  Turin  by 
one  of  the  lords  of  Lucerna. 

Nevertheless,  on  the  26th  of  April,  while  the  men  of  the  valley 
were,  according  to  custom,  at  the  market  of  Lucerna,  the  Count 
Tedesco  hastened  to  attack  Villaro,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred 
horsemen,  well  mounted,  followed  very  closely  by  the  rest  of  his 
troops.  Such  was  his  expedition,  that  he  passed  through  Fenile, 
Bibbiana,  San  Giovanni,  and  La  Torre,  and  found  himself  at  the 
gates  of  Villaro  without  having  met  the  slightest  resistance. 

The  devoted  town  would  have  been  lost  beyond  recovery,  if 
God,  in  his  mercy,  had  not  caused  torrents  of  rain  to  fall ;  which 
so  completely  soaked  the  equipments  of  the  cavalry,  that  hardly 
a  single  musket  was  in  a  state  to  answer  the  well-sustained  fire 
of  a  little  troop  of  about  twenty-five  men,  who,  forming  just  in 
time  at  the  entrance  of  the  town,  dared  to  make  resistance.* 
The  rain  continuing  to  fall,  the  day  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the 
alarm  being  given  through  all  the  valley,  the  count  found  him- 
self obliged  to  sound  a  retreat,  and  returned  the  same  evening 
to  Lucerna,  without  having  been  assailed  or  interrupted  on  his 
march. 

The  next  day  all  the  Vaudois  of  the  valley  were  under  arms. 
The  most  ominous  reports  came  from  Piedmont.  It  was  said 
that  different  bodies  of  soldiers  were  on  their  march,  who  meant 

*  But  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  position  was  very  favourable  for  making 
a  defence ;  the  approach  was  practicable  only  by  a  narrow  road,  bounded  by 
steep  declivities,  and  presenting  an  exposed  bend. 

11 


242  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

to  make  a  terrible  example  of  the  inhabitants.  The  leading 
men  of  the  communes  and  the  pastors  assembled  in  haste.  The 
deputies  of  the  lower  places,  particularly  those  of  San  Giovanni, 
were  for  submission,  because  their  property  and  families  were 
already  in  the  power  of  the  army ;  but  prayer  having  restored 
calmness  to  the  assembly,  and  the  news  received  from  various 
places  and  friends,  as  well  as  the  exhortations  of  Leger  and 
others,  having  shown  the  certainty  of  a  massacre,  they  united  in 
the  same  determination  to  defend  themselves  even  to  death. 

This  resolution  astonished  the  Count  Tedesco.  He  clearly 
saw  that  his  progress  in  the  valley  would  be  marked  by  streams 
of  blood.  The  road  which  he  must  take  was  in  every  part  com- 
manded by  the  mountain  heights.  To  manoeuvre  slowly  formed 
no  part  of  his  plan.  He  had  not  made  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions for  a  slow  or  complicated  expedition :  he  consented  there- 
fore to  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  It  was  agreed  that  the  com 
munes  should  sign  a  declaration  similar  to  that  which  some  of 
their  leaders  had  laid  before  his  highness ;  that  they  should  pro- 
test their  innocence  in  reference  to  the  expulsion  of  the  monks 
and  the  burning  of  the  convent ;  that  they  should  supplicate 
their  sovereign  to  confine  himself  to  punishing  the  authors  of  the 
outrage ;  that,  finally,  they  should  ask  pardon  for  having  taken 
arms  to  defend  themselves,  since  they  could  not  believe  that  it 
was  the  will  of  their  sovereign  that  they  should  be  exterminated. 

Count  Christophe,  of  Lucerna,  who  had  consented  to  carry 
the  act  of  submission  of  the  Vaudois  communes  to  Turin,  brought 
back  the  promise  of  a  general  amnesty  and  the  confirmation  of 
their  grants,  on  condition  of  the  actual  surrender  of  the  minister 
Manget  and  his  wife,  as  well  as  the  re-establishment  of  the  mis- 
sionary fathers  in  a  house  to  be  provided  by  the  commune  of 
Villaro.  A  deputation  also  was  required  to  appear  at  court,  to 
request  pardon  for  having  taken  arms. 

These  conditions  having  been  fulfilled,*  the  Count  Tedesco 
retired  with  his  army ;  and  on  their  departure  the  dread  of  the 

*  One  of  these  conditions,  that  which  obliged  the  commune  of  Villaro  to  pro- 
vide a  house  for  the  monks,  being  contrary  to  the  letter  of  former  treaties, 
which  stipulate  that  the  communes  should  be  at  no  expense  on  account  of  the 
Romish  worship,  the  difficulty  was  got  over  in  the  following  manner :  The 
Count  Tedesco  took  by  force,  in  the  name  of  her  highness,  a  house  belonging 
to  Jacques  Ghiot,  and  placed  the  reverend  fathers  in  it.  The  individual,  no 
doubt,  received  compensation  from  the  commune.     Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  78. 


DISQUIETING    RUMOURS.  243 

most   heart-rending   scenes    was   also    withdrawn    for    a   few 
months. 

But  the  valley  of  Lucerna  did  not  long  enjoy  an  undisturbed 
tranquillity.  At  the  beginning  of  1 654,  it  was  suddenly  menaced 
with  all  the  horrors  of  war  by  the  artful  contrivances,  it  cannot 
be  doubted,  of  the  princess  who  held  the  reigns  of  government, 
though  her  son  had  already  been  declared  of  age.  The  duchess 
had  consented,  for  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  to  receive  into 
winter  quarters  in  her  domains  the  army  of  France  in  Italy, 
commanded  by  Marshal  de  Grance.  She  assigned  the  Vaudois 
valleys  and  a  few  of  the  neighbouring  communes  for  it.  Two  regi- 
ments were  at  first  distributed  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  already 
burdened  by  the  constant  presence  of  the  Savoy  squadron,  who 
were  billeted  upon  individuals,  and  in  part  maintained  by  them, 
both  men  and  horses.  This  pressure  on  their  means,  although 
great,  would  have  been  borne  with  patience,  out  of  submission 
to  the  will  of  the  prince,  but  on  all  sides  it  Avas  whispered  that  it 
was  against  the  intentions  of  the  duchess  that  the  French  troops 
of  Grance  were  establishing  themselves  in  the  country ;  that  the 
duchess  esteemed  the  valleys  too  highly  to  believe  that  they 
would  admit  foreign  troops  among  them  without  her  precise 
orders  and  sign-manual ;  that  to  receive  them  would  be  to  ex- 
pose themselves  to  be  treated  as  rebels  and  traitors  after  their 
departure.  These  disquieting  rumours  were  spread  by  the 
monks  and  popish  lords,  who  professed  to  be  well  informed  as  to 
the  state  of  things.  Their  object  was  gained ;  the  people  of  the 
valley  took  up  arms  to  drive  back  the  French.  To  appease 
them,  the  prefect,  Ressan,  wrote  to  the  overseers  that  the  mar- 
shal had  the  appi'obation  of  her  highness ;  but  his  secretary  im- 
mediately came  and  informed  them  that  this  letter  had  been 
forced  from  him,  and  did  not  express  the  truth.  The  communes 
of  La  Torre,  Bobbio,  and  Villaro,  not  being  yet  occupied,  per- 
sisted in  their  refusal.  The  prefect  pretended  to  be  irritated  by 
the  contempt  shown  to  his  letter,  and  encouraged  the  marshal,  a 
hot-headed  man,  to  collect  his  army,  in  order  to  bring  the  dogs 
(les  barbets)*  to  their  senses.     No  sooner  said  than  done.     On 

*  An  epithet  of  contempt,  synonymous  with  chien,  (dog,)  which  the  Pied- 
montese  papists  give  to  the  Vaudois.  Perhaps  originally  it  was  derived  from 
the  title  barbe,  given  by  the  Vaudois  to  their  pastors  before  the  Reformation, 
and  afterwards  to  old  mon  in  general.     In  the  latter  case,  it  is  synonymous 


244  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  2d  of  February,  Grance  appeared  before  La  Torre  with  all 
his  troops.  The  men  of  the  valley  hastened  to  stop  his  passage — 
a  dangerous  attempt  in  the  plain,  since  they  were  destitute  of 
artillery  and  cavalry,  with  which  the  enemy  was  provided.  The 
firing  was  just  about  to  open,  when  a  French  reformed  captain, 
named  de  Corcelles,  catching  sight  of  the  moderator,  Jean 
Leger,  rode  up  to  him.  Leger,  laying  hold  of  his  horse's  tail, 
crossed  over  with  him  to  the  army  standing  in  battle  array,  and 
threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  marshal,  just  as  he  had  finished 
giving  his  last  orders,  and  explained  to  him,  in  a  rapid  manner, 
the  scruples  of  his  fellow-citizens.  "  Obtain,"  he  said,  "  only  a 
single  line  from  her  royal  highness  to  testify  that  she  consents  to 
the  quartering  of  these  troops,  and  then  the  valleys  are  at  your 
discretion.  They  will  be  patient  even  if  you  march  over  their 
bodies,  provided  they  do  not  incur  the  anger  of  their  prince." 
These  words  perfectly  describe  the  complete  submission  of  the 
Vaudois  to  their  sovereign  in  all  matters  not  affecting  their  reli- 
gious faith.  The  marshal,  says  Leger,  cursed  the  pestilent  fel- 
lows that  fomented  such  troubles,  and  consented  to  suspend  his 
operations  till  the  return  of  a  courier,  who  was  despatched  im- 
mediately to  Turin,  and  brought  back  in  the  morning  a  letter 
from  the  duchess  to  the  valleys,  authorizing  the  cantonment  of 
the  French  troops.  The  valley  of  Lucerna  had  not  less  than 
four  regiments  quartered  upon  it,  of  which  one  alone  counted 
about  three  thousand  men. 

The  intention  of  destroying  the  Yaudois  was  thus  defeated  a 
second  time  ;*  but  it  could  not  always  be  so,  as  we  shall  be  con- 
vinced to  our  astonishment,  and  poign  ant  sorrow. 

Let  us  first  call  to  mind  a  conspicuous  fact  in  the  whole  history 
of  the  Vaudois ;  I  mean,  their  fidelity  to  their  sovereign,  and 
their  entire  and  prompt  obedience  to  his  orders,  as  well  as  to  his 

with  oncle,  (uncle.)  The  papists  generalized  the  title,  and  applied  it  to  all  the 
Vaudois,  after  having  slightly  altered  it,  to  make  it  ridiculous.  However,  the 
word  barbe  (signifying  sir,  or  uncle)  is  also  in  use  among  the  Catholics  of 
Piedmont. 

*  In  the  following  year,  after  the  massacres,  Leger,  conversing  with  Marshal 
Grance  at  Paris,  heard  him  express  himself  thus : — "  Reverend  sir,  I  now  know 
very  well,  and  I  discovered  it  before,  that  they  wished  to  make  use  of  me  to 
cut  all  your  throats,  and  then  to  cut  off  my  own  head,  when  the  duchess  told 
me  to  lodge  my  troops  in  the  valleys ;  and  yet  they  were  threatened  with  the 
total  loss  of  her  favour  if  they  received  them,  as  you  yourself  informed  me,  in 
good  time,  before  the  town  of  La  Torre."    See  Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  81. 


MACHINATIONS  OF  ROME.  245 

laws,  in  everything  that  did  not  affect  their  duties  to  God,  ac- 
cording to  the  holy  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Of  this  they  gave 
proof  on  many  occasions ;  and  again  in  the  instance  of  defending 
the  regency  against  the  princes  in  coalition  with  the  Spaniards ; 
and  lastly,  in  risking  their  being  massacred  by  the  army  of 
Grancd,  rather  than  submit  themselves  to  a  stranger,  contrary  to 
the  pleasure  of  their  sovereign. 

Let  us  also  notice  that  the  young  duke  confirmed  their  former 
privileges,  in  1653,  by  three  decrees,  and  by  a  fourth  in  the 
month  of  May,  in  1654,  to  the  same  effect.  It  is  true  that  the 
subordinate  agents  raised  one  obstacle  after  another  to  the  con- 
firmation of  these  decrees,  opposing  new  difficulties  of  a  formal 
kind  as  soon  as  the  preceding  were  removed,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  registration  of  the  documents. 

Nevertheless,  history  has  established  the  fact,  that  down  to  the 
period  at  which  we  are  arrived,  excepting  the  misdemeanour 
committed  at  Villaro  by  some  imprudent  individuals,  and  which 
could  not,  without  injustice,  be  attributed  to  the  general  body, 
the  conduct  of  the  Vaudois  towards  the  authority  of  their  prince 
was  free  from  all  reproach,  and  even  exemplary.  It  was  not, 
then,  for  political  reasons,  as  the  ministers  of  the  sovereign  at  a 
later  period  pretended,  that  the  edge  of  the  sword  at  last  fell  on 
so  many  victims.  The  fact,  moreover,  of  the  existence  at  Turin, 
from  the  year  1650,  of  a  Council  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith,  and  the  Extirpation  of  Heretics,  is  attested  by  the  very 
wording  of  a  proclamation  of  Gastaldo,  dated  Lucerna,  the  31st 
of  May,  1650,  and  purporting  that  only  those  persons  would  be 
exempt  from  punishment  who  could  prove  that  they  had  become 
Catholics  before  the  above-named  council,  established  at  Turin 
by  his  royal  highness.  This  fact  of  itself  suffices  to  explain 
everything ;  and  when  it  is  attempted  to  heap  accusations,  more 
or  less  plausible,  on  the  Vaudois,  shows  with  so  much  greater 
force,  in  the  absence  of  political  pretexts,  that  the  terrible  per- 
secutions that  ensued  were  the  result  of  the  machinations  of 
Rome.  And  who  can  be  surprised  ?  Those  who  know  its  his- 
tory, or  who  have  seen  the  operations  of  this  corrupt  church, 
know  that  one  of  the  proofs  of  the  curse  it  has  received  from  the 
Lord  is,  that  it  is  constrained  by  its  own  principles,  and  forced 
by  the  spirit  that  animates  its  most  faithful  agents,  to  persecute 
to  the  utmost,  as  irreconcilable  enemies,  worthy  of  the  severest 


246  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

punishments,  the  most  faithful  confessors  of  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  most  zealous  friends  of  his  word,  the  holiest  men,  and 
the  purest  churches. 

But  we  check  ourselves.     Let  us  leave  the  judgment  of  this 
church  to  the  Lord,  for  to  him  alone  belongeth  vengeance  ! 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CRUELTIES  COMMITTED  BY  THE  PAPISTS  IN  THE  VALLEYS. 

The  storm  was  followed  by  a  calm.  Events,  it  appeared,  had 
not  favoured  the  design  of  extirpating  the  heretics;  and  the 
Vaudois,  reposing  in  their  valleys,  already  indulged  the  hope 
of  better  days,  and  hastened  to  request  the  registration  by  the 
senate  of  the  four  decrees  by  which,  in  1653  and  1654,  the  duke 
had  confirmed  their  privileges.  But  how  far  were  they  from 
perceiving  the  real  state  of  things,  and  suspecting  the  dreadful 
catastrophe  that  awaited  them !  For  while,  under  various  pre- 
tences, their  requests  were  set  aside,  or  the  consideration  of 
them  deferred,  the  agents  of  Rome  at  the  court  of  Turin,  in 
conjunction  with  the  chief  members  of  the  government,  were 
secretly  plotting  fresh  schemes,  worthy  of  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness that  inspired  them.  No  time  was  lost  in  forming  their  plan ; 
they  adopted  an  old  project  already  sketched,  in  1650,  in  a 
manifesto  of  the  auditor  Gastaldo,  intended  to  restrain  the  Vau- 
dois within  narrower  limits,  and  to  oppress  them  more  severely 
than  ever. 

In  consequence  of  these  deliberations,  and  furnished  with  new 
powers,  the  lawyer  Gastaldo,  auditor  of  the  exchequer,  conserva- 
tor-general of  the  holy  faith,  commissioned  to  enforce  the  ob- 
servance of  the  orders  published  against  the  pretended  reformed 
religion  of  the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  Perosa,  and  San  Martino,  and 
delegated  for  this  special  object  by  his  royal  highness,  proceeded 
to  Lucerna,  and  there  published,  on  the  25th  of  January,  1655, 
the  following  cruel  order : — u  It  is  enjoined  and  commanded  on 
all  persons,  heads  of  families,  of  the  pretended  reformed  religion, 
of  every  state  and  condition  without  exception,  inhabitants  and 
landowners  of  Lucerna,  Lucernetta,  San  Giovanni,  La  Torre, 
Bibbiana,  Fenile,  Campiglione,  Bricherasco,  and  San  Secon- 


EXPULSION  FROM  LUCERNA,  ETC.  247 

do,*  to  withdraw  from  the  aforesaid  places  and  territories,  and  to 
leave  them  with  all  their  families,  within  the  space  of  three  days 
from  the  publication  of  the  present  edict,  in  order  to  settle  within 
the  localities  and  limits  tolerated  by  his  royal  highness,  accord- 
ing to  his  good  pleasure,  and  which  are  Bobbio,  Villaro,  An- 
grogna,  Rora,  and  the  district  of  Bonnets.  Such  persons  as 
refuse  to  obey  these  orders,  and  are  found  beyond  the  aforesaid 
limits,  will  incur  the  penalty  of  death  and  the  confiscation  of  all 
their  property,  unless  within  the  next  twenty  days  they  declare 
before  us  (Gastaldo)  that  they  are  Catholics,  or  that  they  have 
disposed  of  their  property  to  Catholics."  The  manifesto  con- 
tains the  strange  and  incredible  assertion,  that  neither  his  high- 
ness nor  his  predecessors  ever  designed  to  grant  the  inhabitants 
of  the  valleys  more  extensive  limits  than  those  laid  down  in  the 
present  edict ;  that  the  claim  of  the  Vaudois  to  more  extensive 
limits  was  an  encroachment ;  that  this  encroachment  constituted 
a  crime,  and  that  those  who  had  committed  it  were  liable  to 
punishmentf 

An  order  which  forcibly  expelled  whole  families  by  hundreds, 
in  three  days,  and  in  the  middle  of  winter,  even  had  it  been 
legal,  and  been  brought  about  by  the  bad  conduct  of  the  con- 
demned parties,  would  still  have  been  a  cruel  order. 

Imagine  the  distress  of  fathers  and  mothers,  compelled  at  once, 
without  any  previous  warning,  to  leave  the  abode  which  they 
had  built,  or  received  by  inheritance  from  their  parents,  where 
they  had  brought  up  their  children,  stored  their  orops,  and  were 
living  happily  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  enjoying  the  light  of 
his  countenance.  See  them  now,  asking,  Whither  are  we  to  go  ? 
what  is  to  become  of  us  ?  must  we  then  quit  everything  ?  aban- 
don our  goods,  our  hearths  ?  renounce  so  many  earthly  bless- 
ings ? — One  way  alone  was  left  them  of  avoiding  such  complete 
ruin.  By  a  cruel  refinement  of  compassion,  Gastaldo  had 
pointed  it  out  to  them  ;  it  was  apostasy.  Become  a  papist,  in- 
voke the  virgin  and  the  saints,  prostrate  thyself  before  graven 
images,  attend  the  mass,  adore  the  host,  confess  to  the  priest, 

*  It  will  be  perceived  that  excepting  San  Secondo,  the  valley  of  Lucerna  alone 
is  mentioned.  All  the  efforts  of  the  Council  for  Propagation  of  the  Faith  were 
directed  against  it,  as  being  the  most  considerable. 

t  If  the  reader  recollect  the  contents  of  Chap.  VIII,  of  this  history,  he  can  de- 
cide for  himself  how  far  this  charge  of  encroachment  is  well  founded. 


248  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

offer  him  gifts,  and  thou  shalt  preserve  thy  house,  thine  orchard, 
thy  vines,  and  fields, — at  the  cost  of  thy  immortal  soul !  If  all 
received  strength  from  above,  we  might  hope,  no  doubt,  that 
faith  in  the  Saviour,  and  the  expectation  of  future  blessedness, 
would  gain  in  their  hearts  the  victory  over  the  love  of  earthly 
things.  But  who  would  venture  to  expect  such  faith  and  self- 
renunciation  from  all,  or  even  from  the  greater  nnmber  ?  And 
then,  the  infirm  and  aged,  and  the  sick,  and  the  multitude  of 
little  children — what  will  become  of  them  ?  how  can  they  be 
removed  ?  what  course  are  they  to  take  ?  in  what  villages  of 
their  sympathizing  brethren  must  a  refuge  be  sought  for  them, 
and  with  them  ?  Only  let  the  reader  imagine  himself  a  witness 
of  the  anguish,  the  embarrassment,  the  fears  and  lamentations 
of  the  victims  devoted  to  the  direst  evils  by  popish  cruelty.  It 
is  now  the  most  inclement  season  of  the  year ;  it  snows  on  the 
mountains,  while  in  the  valleys  the  flakes  are  turned  into  rain, 
which  penetrates  through  everything.  The  hour  of  departure  is 
arrived :  the  cruel  Gastaldo  has  marked  it.  Those  who  delay 
will  have  their  goods  confiscated,  and  receive  themselves  the 
sentence  of  death.  What  will  be  your  decision,  ye  men  of 
peace,  who  sigh  for  rest  ?  O  victory  of  faith ! — the  love  of  God 
has  triumphed  in  their  hearts  1  .  .  .  They  depart,  carrying,  as 
they  are  able,  whatever  is  most  precious  to  them.  Often,  in- 
stead of  articles  of  absolute  necessity,  with  which  they  would 
have  loaded  a  mule,  here  and  there  belonging  to  more  wealthy 
families,  they  .place  upon  its  back  the  weak  old  man  of 
eighty,  the  sick,  taken  from  his  bed,  or  children  too  young  to 
walk. 

The  pastor  of  the  majority  of  these  victims,  the  historian, 
Jean  Leger,  is  at  a  loss,  in  his  narrative,  sufficiently  to  express 
his  admiration  of  the  goodness  of  God,  who,  in  so  great  a  multi- 
tude of  persons,  allowed  not  one  to  do  violence  to  his  con- 
science.* All  preferred  the  prospect  of  misery  and  sufferings 
of  every  kind  to  the  peaceable  possession  of  their  houses  and 
goods  at  the  cost  of  abjuration.  They  took  for  their  motto,  he 
exclaims,  the  words  of  Holy  Writ  in  reference  to  the  sacrifice 
of  Isaac  :  "  In  the  mount  of  the  Lord  it  shall  be  seen." 

The  exiles  were  received  with  compassion  by  their  brethren 
in  the  tolerated  villages ;  they  gave  them  a  place  by  their  fire- 

*  Fifteen  hundred  at  least ;  probably,  two  thousand. 


THE  EXILES.  249 

sides,  and  crowded  themselves  to  lodge  them;  the  table  was 
spread  for  all ;  they  shared  with  them  the  dish  of  parched  corn 
or  polenta,  boiled  chestnuts,  butter,  and  milk.  To  welcome  them, 
the  cup  of  red  wine  went  round  from  hand  to  hand,  while  they 
listened  to  their  melancholy  story. 

But  this  was  not  all.  An  attempt  was  made  to  soften  Gas- 
taldo.  An  humble  petition  was  presented  to  the  duke.  Alas  ! 
all  was  useless.  The  petition  was  rejected ;  the  deputies  returned 
in  consternation.  "  The  mass,  or  exile" — was  all  the  answer 
they  received.     No  other  alternative  was  left  them. 

But  not  allowing  themselves  to  be  baffled,  the  three  valleys 
persevered  in  presenting  memorials  in  behalf  of  their  persecuted 
brethren.  They  knocked  at  every  door.  Their  principal  let- 
ters to  the  dowager  duchess,  to  the  duke,  and<to  the  man  on 
whom  their  fate  seemed  chiefly  to  depend,  on  account  of  the  in- 
fluence he  possessed  and  the  powers  he  was  invested  with,  we 
mean,  the  marquis  de  Pianezza,  have  been  preserved.  They  re- 
present, with  all  possible  respect,  that,  from  time  immemorial,* 
they  had  dwelt  in  those  plains  from  which  they  had  just  been  ex- 
pelled; that  the  treaty  of  1561,  which  had  refused  to  the  Vau- 
dois  the  liberty  of  preaching  in  most  of  the  communes  in  question, 
had  nevertheless  recognized  their  residence  in  them ;  that  this 
latter  privilege  had  been  established  by  very  ancient  authentic 
acts,  and  had  been  constantly  guaranteed  in  later  concessions ; 
that  their  expulsion  from  the  places  of  their  birth  and  the  com- 
munes of  their  ancestors  could  not  consequently  be  effected  with- 
out violating  the  most  explicit  and  venerable  documents,  and  in- 
fringing a  right  hitherto  undisputed.  But  these  representations 
were  not  listened  to.  Even  access  to  the  throne  of  their  sove- 
reign was  shut  against  the  Vaudois.  Gastaldo  declared  that  it 
was  so;  and  they  were  soon  convinced  that  this  was  the  case. 
Neither  their  petitions  nor  their  deputations  were  admitted.  It 
was  required  of  them  that  they  should  petition  for  favour,  and 
leave  the  conditions  of  it  entirely  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  high- 
ness. This  was,  in  fact,  the  only  means  of  bringing  them  to  ab- 
jure. Yet,  whatever  was  done,  this  point  could  not  be  gained. 
In  all  their  petitions,  and  all  their  promises  of  submission,  they 
constantly  renewed  the  maintenance  of  their  ancient  privileges, 

*  Leger  remarks  that  the  Vaudois  inhabited  these  parts  before  Piedmont  be- 
longed to  the  house  of  Savoy. 

11* 


250  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Hiiii  especially  that  of  liberty  of  conscience.  And  on  these  wishes 
and  reservations  being  rejected,  they  supplicated  their  prince  to 
allow  them  to  leave  his  dominions  in  peace. 

These  urgent  entreaties  and  conditions  irritated  the  council. 
Their  situation,  already  very  critical,  had  been  aggravated  by 
imprudences,  which  calumny  was  quick  in  taking  advantage  of. 
Some  of  the  exiles  from  Bibbiana  and  other  villages  in  the  plain 
of  Lucerna,  having  heard  that  certain  Piedmontese  robbers  were 
laying  waste  their  property  and  plundering  their  houses,  returned 
thither  to  assure  themselves  of  the  truth  of  the  report,  and  to  pro- 
tect their  property.  Their  ancient  lords,  and  especially  count 
Christophe,  of  Lucerna,  pretending  sentiments  of  benevolence, 
encouraged  them  to  look  after  their  dwellings,  and  not  entirely 
to  abandon  the  cultivation  of  their  lands,  provided,  however,  their 
families  kept  away.  The  auditor  Gastaldo,  it  was  added,  saw  no 
harm  in  their  doing  so.  This  language  was  like  a  bait  which  the 
angler  puts  on  his  hook  to  entice  and  catch  the  voracious  fish. 
The  Vaudois  of  San  Giovanni,  La  Torre,  Lucerna,  Bibbiana,  and 
other  places,  too  anxious  to  preserve  their  unprotected  property, 
did  not  see  that  they  gave  their  enemies  a  handle  for  accusing 
them  of  transgressing  their  sovereign's  edict,  which  they  did  not 
fail  to  do.  Word  was  sent  to  the  count  that  they  resisted,  and 
persisted  in  their  obstinacy.  Their  imprudence  was  even  de- 
scribed as  outrageous  rebellion. 

A  murder  committed  on  the  person  of  the  priest  of  Fenile,  one 
of  the  communes  from  which  the  Vaudois  had  been  expelled, 
was  at  once  attributed  to  the  revenge  of  the  barbets.  The  real 
authors  of  the  assassination  were  soon  pursued  by  the  relations 
of  the  deceased  and  cast  into  prison.  They  were  the  lord  of 
Fenile,  Ressan,  prefect  of  justice  of  the  province,  one  of  the  most 
ardent  enemies  of  the  Vaudois,  his  secretary,  Dagot,  and  a  cele- 
brated bandit  named  Berru.  Nevertheless  the  hasty  rumour  had 
already  filled  all  Piedmont  with  the  imputation  of  this  crime  to 
the  detested  barbets,  though  the  real  criminals  were  suspected. 
The  mischief  was  done ;  calumny  had  gained  its  end*     The  Vau- 

•*  Berru  even  dared  to  assert  that  he  had  been  hired  by  the  pastors  Leger  and 
Michelin  to  commit  this  murder.  But  in  the  conferences  held  during  the  month 
of  August,  at  Pinerolo,  in  the  presence  of  the  French  Ambassador  and  the  Swiss 
deputies,  Leger  confounded  his  calumniators  by  demonstrating  his  perfect  in- 
nocence as  well  as  that  of  his  colleague,  and  by  offering  to  clear  up  the  affair  at 
Pinerolo,  on  the  French  territory,  where  they  should  brinir  Berru  himself,  whom 


THE  EXILES.  251 

dois  were,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Piedmontese,  not  only  heretics, 
enemies  of  the  virgin  and  the  saints,  but  also  rebels  against  their 
prince,  and  assassins.  The  punishments  they  deserved  from  the 
avenging  justice  of  their  sovereign,  it  was  thought,  could  never 
be  severe  enough. 

At  length,  the  persecutors  of  the  Vaudois  had  attained  their 
object ;  the  Council  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  the  Ex- 
tirpation of  Heretics  had  won  the  consent  of  the  duke  and  his 
family,  as  well  as  the  general  approbation.  The  hour  was  come 
to  strike  a  great  blow, — to  extirpate  heresy  in  a  day.  The  mar- 
quis of  Pianezza,  the  soul  of  the  council,  assembled  his  troops, 
while  he  deceived  and  quieted  the  deputies  from  the  valleys  at 
Turin. 

All  the  disposable  troops  were  secretly  prepared  for  the  expe- 
dition, and  to  these  were  added  some  companies  of  Bavarians. 
At  the  request  of  Charles  Emmanuel,  six  regiments  of  the  French 
amiy  crossed  the  Alps,  then  covered  with  snow,  besides  an  Irish 
regiment  of  papists  who  had  fled  before  Cromwell.  It  is  even 
said  that  banditti,  apprehended  criminals,  and  other  abandoned 
wretches,  were  allowed  to  follow  the  army,  with  a  promise  of  par- 
don and  plunder  if  they  acquitted  themselves  well. 

The  marquis  of  Pianezza  continued  to  the  last  to  amuse  the 
Yaudois  deputation,  to  whom  he  had  long  promised  an  audience, 
which  he  put  off  from  one  day  to  another,  and  at  length  fixed  for 
April  the  1 7th,  1655.  But  while  they  were  knocking  at  his  door, 
at  the  hour  appointed,  and  David  Branchi  of  San  Giovanni,  and 
Francois  Manchon  of  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  were  told  that 
they  could  not  yet  speak  to  his  excellency,*  the  deceiver  Pianezza, 
who  had  set  off  at  night,  was  entering  the  valley  of  Lucerna  at 
the  head  of  an  army,  which  the  next  day  counted  not  less  than 
fifteen  thousand  men,  according  to  the  statement  even  of  the 
enemy. 

San  Giovanni  and  La  Torre,  which  had  been  abandoned  by 
the  Vaudois  ever  since  the  manifesto  of  Gastaldo,  were  taken 
possession  of  without  any  trouble,  as  were  also  all  their  ancient 

they  had  just  apprehended  in  the  valleys.  But  the  Piedmontese  papists  de- 
clined the  offer,  saying  it  was  needless  ;  that  Leger  was  free  from  all  suspicion, 
etc.,  and  that  Berru  ought  to  be  delivered  to  the  ordinary  judges. 

*  They  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  arrested  themselves,  shortly  after,  if  a 
lord,  a  friend  of  the  Vaudois,  had  not  whispered  to  them,  "  The  marquis  is  gone 
to  the  valleys  ;  be  off!" 


252  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

dwellings  in  the  villages  of  the  plain.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
add  that  every  place  was  pillaged.  The  poor  exiles,  and  their 
brethren  from  Bobbio,  Villaro,  and  Angrogna,  sorrowfully  kept 
themselves  in  safe  places  on  the  heights,  whence  they  could  see 
the  troops  scattered  over  the  plain  and  ravaging  it.  Their  sen- 
tinels kept  watch  night  and  day.  The  aggressive  intentions  of 
the  papists  were  too  evident  for  the  Vaudois  to  hesitate  about 
defending  themselves.  The  mountaineers  resolved  to  sell  their 
lives  dearly.  As  early  as  the  19th  of  April,  they  were  fiercely 
assailed  in  many  places,  at  San  Giovanni,  La  Torre,  Angrogna, 
and  the  hills  of  Bricherasco,  all  at  the  same  time.  Although 
very  inferior  in  numbers,  they  repulsed  the  regular  troops  at 
every  point.  On  the  20th,  the  attacks  were  renewed,  but  with 
no  better  success. 

The  marquis  of  Pianezza  thereupon  called  in  stratagem  and 
deceit  to  his  aid.  He  convened  the  deputies  of  the  communes 
of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  to  meet  him  at  the  convent  of  La  Torre 
on  Wednesday  the  21st,  early  in  the  morning,  and  pacified  and 
encouraged  them.  He  represented  that  he  was  merely  in  pur- 
suit of  those  obstinate  individuals  who  had  resisted  the  orders  of 
Gastaldo ;  that,  as  for  all  the  rest,  they  had  nothing  to  fear,  pro- 
vided that,  as  a  mark  of  obedience  and  fidelity  to  the  prince, 
they  would  consent  to  receive  and  lodge  a  regiment  of  infantry 
and  two  companies  of  horse  soldiers  in  each  of  their  communities, 
for  two  or  three  days.  Some  soothing  words  lessened  in  the 
minds  of  the  deputies  the  painful  impression  which  these  propo- 
sals at  first  made.  A  sumptuous  entertainment,  provided  for 
them  with  apparent  kindness  by  the  artful  vice-president  of  the 
council  for  the  extirpation  of  heresy,  succeeded  in  convincing 
them  of  the  sincerity  and  benevolence  of  his  intentions.  On  re- 
turning to  their  communes,  they  inspired  their  brethren  with 
similar  confidence,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  several  clear-sighted 
men,  the  pastor  Leger  in  particular. 

The  whole  army,  accordingly,  put  itself  in  motion,  on  the  22d 
of  April,  to  occupy  the  Vaudois  communes.  The  regiments  first 
took  possession  of  the  large  towns  of  Villaro  and  Bobbio,  in  the 
plain,  as  well  as  of  the  lower  hamlets  of  Angrogna.  At  the 
same  time,  they  seized  upon  the  principal  passes,  and  meeting 
with  no  obstacle,  penetrated,  while  daylight  allowed,  as  far  as  the 
hamlets  in  the  higher  valleys.     Thus,  instead  of  a  few  regiments 


PIEDMONTESE  ARMY  IN  THE  VALLEYS.  253 

and  squadrons,  the  whole  army  lodged  and  established  itself  in 
the  habitations  of  the  credulous  Vaudois.  Their  reliance  on  the 
word  of  other  people,  and  respect  for  their  sovereign,  were 
their  ruin.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  sentiments  so  honourable 
should  often  become  a  cause  of  destruction. 

The  eagerness  of  some  of  the  soldiers  to  execute  the  orders 
that  had  been  secretly  given  them,  apprized  the  already  suspi- 
cious Vaudois  of  what  they  had  to  fear.  One  troop  hastened  to 
climb  the  heights  above  La  Torre,  in  order  to  penetrate  into 
the  quarter  of  the  Pra-di-torre,  that  natural  citadel  of  Angrogna, 
so  often  mentioned  in  the  preceding  persecutions ;  on  their  way 
up,  these  madmen  set  fire  to  all  the  houses,  and,  moreover,  mas- 
sacred all  the  unfortunate  beings  they  could  lay  hands  upon. 
The  spectacle  of  these  flames,  the  sound  of  the  cries  and  screams 
of  the  victims  whom  they  stabbed  or  pursued,  left  no  doubt  of 
their  intentions.  The  alarm,  "  Save  himself  who  can !  the  trea- 
son is  out !"  resounded  from  one  extremity  of  the  valley  to  the 
other.  In  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  most  of  the  men  had  time  to 
escape  to  the  mountains  and  to  save  a  good  part  of  their  families, 
by  favour  of  the  darkness.  They  passed  over  to  the  side  of  the 
mountain  opposite  to  that  on  which  their  hamlets  were  situated, 
as  far  as  that  part  of  the  valley  of  Perosa  which  belonged  to 
France,  and  where  they  felt  themselves  safe.  The  sick  and 
aged  were  obliged  to  remain  ;  many  women  also  and  their  chil- 
dren stayed  with  them. 

The  soldiers,  on  the  day  of  their  arrival,  and  the  following, 
were  very  pacific.  They  seemed  only  intent  on  providing 
themselves  with  refreshments.  They  lavishly  used  the  pro- 
visions stored  up  by  the  refugees  of  San  Giovanni,  Bibbiana, 
and  other  towns  in  the  plain.  They  exhorted  those  who  were 
in  their  power  to  recall  the  fugitives,  assuring  them  that  they 
would  receive  no  injury,  so  that  there  were  some  credulous 
enough  to  entangle  themselves  again  in  the  snares  from  which 
they  had  already  escaped. 

The  troops  conducted  themselves  in  the  same  manner  in  the 
communes  of  Villaro  and  Bobbio,  and  in  all  the  western  hamlets 
they  occupied.  But  neither  the  poor  inhabitants  of  these  places, 
nor  the  persons  who  had  taken  refuge  among  them,  had  equal 
facilities  with  those  of  Angrogna  for  escaping.  They  had  but 
two  outlets  to  make  their  way  to  France,  the  defile  of  La  Croix, 


254  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

and  the  defile  of  Giuliano,  (Julian,)  which  opens  upon  Pr&li, 
whence  they  might  reach  Abries,  all  covered  with  deep  snow ; 
the  first,  moreover,  guarded  by  the  fort  of  Mirebouc,  or  Mira- 
bouc,  situated  half  way  through  the  pass,  and  the  other  two 
prodigiously  long  and  difficult,  especially  in  the  middle  of  winter 
in  these  Alpine  countries. 

The  circumstances  not  appearing  to  promise  a  more  favour- 
able opportunity  for  the  duke's  troops,  and  as  delay  might 
frustrate  their  evil  project,  Saturday,  the  24th  of  April,  1655, 
was  chosen  for  th,e  execution  of  the  orders  of  the  Council 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  the  Extirpation  of 
Heretics. 

How  shall  we  rehearse  such  a  tragedy  ?  It  is  Cain  a  second 
time  shedding  the  blood  of  his  brother  Abel. 

"  The  signal  having  been  given  on  the  eminence  near  La 
Torre,  called  Castelus,"  (this  is  the  account  of  Leger,  an  eye- 
witness of  these  horrors,)  "  almost  all  the  innocent  creatures  who 
were  in  the  power  of  these  cannibals  had  their  throats  cut  like 
sheep  in  a  slaughter-house ;  what  do  I  say  V  they  were  not  put 
to  the  sword  like  conquered  enemies,  to  whom  no  quarter  is 
given ;  nor  executed  by  the  hands  of  public  executioners,  like 
the  most  infamous  criminals,  for  massacres  of  this  kind  would 
not  have  sufficiently  signalized  the  zeal  of  their  general,  nor 
gained  credit  enough  for  those  who  executed  his  orders. 

"  Children,  cruelly  torn  from  their  mother's  breast,  were  seized 
by  the  feet,  and  dashed  and  crushed  against  the  rocks  or  walls, 
which  were  often  covered  with  their  brains,  while  their  bodies 
were  cast  away  on  the  common  heaps :  or,  one  soldier  seizing 
one  limb  of  these  innocent  creatures,  and  another  taking  hold 
of  the  other,  would  tear  them  asunder,  then  throw  them  at  each 
other,  or  beat  their  mothers  with  them,  and  at  last  hurl  them 
into  the  fields. 

"  The  sick  and  aged,  both  men  and  women,  were  either  burned 
in  their  houses,  or  literally  cut  in  pieces,  or  tied  up,  stripped  of 
their  clothes,  like  a  ball,  with  their  head  between  their  legs,  and 
thrown  over  the  rocks,  or  rolled  down  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains. After  violating  females,  young  and  old,  they  forced  flints 
into  their  bodies,  or  gunpowder,  to  which  they  set  fire ;  others 
they  impaled,  and  in  this  horrible  position,  placed  naked  as 
crosses  by  the  wayside.     Others  were  mutilated  in  various  ways. 


MASSACRES.  255 

and  even  portions  of  their  bodies  were  fried  and  eaten  by  these 
cannibals. 

"  As  for  the  men,  some  were  cut  up  while  still  living,  one 
member  after  another,  like  meat  at  the  shambles.  Others  were 
hung  up  so  as  to  outrage  all  decency,  or  scorched  alive,  etc* 

"  The  valleys  resounded  with  such  mournful  echoes  of  the 
lamentable  cries  of  the  wretched  victims,  and  the  shrieks  wrung 
from  them  by  their  agonies,  that  you  might  have  imagined  the 
rocks  were  moved  with  compassion,  while  the  barbarous  per- 
petrators of  these  atrocious  cruelties  remained  absolutely  in- 
sensible. 

"  It  is  true  that  many  of  these  bloody  ruffians  of  Piedmont, 
who  were  without  children,  on  seeing  these  sweet  creatures, 
beautiful  as  little  angels,  instead  of  killing  them,  carried  them  to 
their  homes.  It  is  also  true  that,  whether  from  hopes  of  obtain- 
ing a  ransom  or  other  motives,  they  spared  some  of  the  higher 
classes,  both  men  and  women  ;  many  of  whom  perished  miserably 
in  prisons.f 

"  After  the  general  massacre,  the  soldiers  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  fugitives  who  had  not  been  able  to  pass  the  frontier,  and 
were  wandering  in  the  woods  and  mountains,  or  were  languishing 
destitute  of  fire  and  food  in  remote  sheds,  or  in  caves  of  the 
rocks ;  death  in  its  most  dreadful  forms  pursued  them.  Alas  for 
those  who  were  discovered  and  taken  !  When  the  houses  of  their 
victims  had  been  pillaged,  the  soldiers  made  it  an  amusement, 
or,  shall  we  say,  considered  it  a  duty,  to  reduce  them  to  ashes : 
villages,  hamlets,  temples,  lone  houses,  barns,  stables,^  buildings 
great  and  small,  were  all  consumed.  The  beautiful  valley  of 
Lucerna,  with  the  exception  of  Villaro,  and  some  buildings  re- 
served for  the  Irish  cut-throats,  whom  they  thought  of  settling 

*  The  details  of  these  atrocities  are  given  in  Leger's  History,  pt.  ii,  pp.  116- 
139,  after  having  been  collected  and  committed  to  writing  by  a  notary,  on  the 
testimony  of  eye-witnesses  questioned  in  all  the  valleys  by  Leger,  on  the  return 
of  peace. 

t  The  merciless  marquis  of  Lucerna  and  Angrogna  had  the  barbarity  to  leave 
the  corpses  of  those  who  had  died  in  the  dungeons  in  the  midst  of  the  prisoners . 
We  may  imagine  what  they  must  have  suffered  in  their  health  and  feelings,  ex- 
pecting every  day  to  die,  and  forced  to  breathe,  eat,  and  sleep,  during  the  heat 
of  summer,  by  the  side  of  dead  bodies  in  a  state  of  putrefaction.— Leger,  pt.  ii, 
p.  139. 

I  Every  property  of  any  considerable  size,  and  remote,  had  its  barn  and 
stable. 


•25(3  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

there,  all  these  districts,  hitherto  resembling  the  rich  soil  of 
Goshen,  were  now  more  like  the  burning  brick-kilns  of  Egypt. 

"  It  was  then,"  exclaims  Leger,  "  that  the  fugitives,  who  had 
been  snatched  like  brands  out  of  the  fire,  could  address  God  in 
the  words  of  the  79th  Psalm : — 

'  O  God,  the  heathen  are  come  into  thine  inheritance  ; 
Thy  holy  temple  have  they  defiled ; 
They  have  laid  Jerusalem  on  heaps. 
The  dead  bodies  of  thy  servants  have  they  given 
To  be  meat  unto  the  fowls  of  the  heaven, 
The  flesh  of  thy  saints 
Unto  the  beasts  of  the  earth. 

Their  blood  have  they  shed  like  water  round  about  Jerusalem : 
And  there  was  none  to  bury  them,'  etc." 

"Our  tears  are  no  longer  of  water,"  wrote  the  Vaudois  fugitives 
of  Pinache  to  the  Swiss  evangelical  cantons,  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  April ;  "  they  are  of  blood ;  they  do  not  only  obscure 
our  sight,  they  choke  our  poor  hearts ;  our  hands  tremble,  and 
our  heads  are  stunned  by  the  blows  we  have  just  received; 
strangely  troubled,  moreover,  by  fresh  alarms,  and  by  the  attacks 
made  upon  us,  we  are  prevented  from  writing  to  you  as  we  wish ; 
but  we  pray  you  to  excuse  us,  and  to  collect,  amidst  our  groans, 
the  meaning  of  what  we  would  fain  utter."* 

The  court  of  Turin,  in  a  manifesto  published  in  French,  Latin, 
and  Italian,  denied  the  greater  part  of  the  facts  above  narrated. 
The  Roman  Catholic  historians  have  accused  Leger  of  exaggera- 
tion in  his  recitals.  We  can  imagine  how  a  crime,  after  its  com- 
mission, excites  even  in  its  authors  and  approvers  an  involuntary 
horror.  Conscience  protests;  pride  feels  the  ineffaceable  blot 
on  the  honour  of  the  guilty  parties,  and  strives  to  veil  it,  by  de- 
nying its  reality.  But  the  crime  was  not  of  that  kind  which 
could  be  concealed.  Hundreds  of  victims  had  been  seen  lying 
mutilated,  dishonoured,  unburied,  in  the  fields  and  on  the  roads ; 
their  names,  and  the  manner  of  their  death,  were  carefully  noted. 
Why  should  thousands  of  families  put  themselves  in  mourning 
if  this  account  were  an  exaggeration  ?  Why  did  the  command- 
ing officer  of  a  French  regiment,  the  sieur  du  Petitbourg,  whom 
the  marquis  of  Pianezza,  in  his  manifesto,  calls  a  man  of  honour, 
worthy  of  credit,  resign  his  commission  after  the  events  in  the 
valley  of  Lucerna,  if  it  were  not,  as  he  has  declared  in  an  au- 
*  See  Dieterici  die  Valdenses.    Berlin,  1831,  p.  66. 


MASSACRES.  257 

thentic  document,  that  he  would  not  be  again  present  at  such 
disgraceful  scenes ?  "I  have  been  a  witness,"  he  says,  " of  nu- 
merous acts  of  extreme  violence  and  cruelty  exercised  by  the 
outlaws  of  Piedmont  and  the  soldiers  on  persons  of  every  age, 
sex,  and  condition,  whom  I  have  seen  massacred,  dismembered, 
hung,  burned,  violated,  besides  numerous  dreadful  conflagrations. 
When  they  brought  persons  to  the  marquis  of  Pianezza,  I  saw 
him  give  orders  to  kill  them  all,  because  his  highness  would  not 
have  people  of  that  religion  in  any  part  of  his  dominions."* 

The  eyes  of  Protestant  Europe  were,  moreover,  assured  of 
the  reality  of  these  atrocities.  The  ambassadors  of  the  evangeli- 
cal cantons  of  Switzerland,  of  the  United  Provinces  of  Holland, 
and  of  England,  established  and  declared  it.  Their  despatches, 
the  letters  of  their  governments,  and  their  proceedings  with  the 
duke  of  Savoy  attest  it,  as  also  the  history  published  by  Sir  Samuel 
Morland,  the  envoy  extraordinary  of  the  Protector,  a  personage 
distinguished  for  his  noble  qualities  of  heart  and  mind,  and  who 
visited  the  spot  soon  after  the  massacres. 

The  only  community  in  all  the  valley  of  Lucerna  that  escaped 
the  vengeance  of  the  army  was  the  smallest,  called  Kora,  con- 
sisting of  only  twenty-five  families,  situated  to  the  south  of  Vil- 
laro  and  La  Torre,  on  the  right  side  of  the  Pelice,  among  the 
mountains,  where  it  forms  a  retired  glen  between  two  low  ridges, 
which  descend  to  the  east  of  the  majestic  pile  of  Friolant.  Al- 
though spared  at  first  by  the  army,  this  little  commune  was  not 
forgotten ;  for  in  spite  of  the  reiterated  promises  of  its  lord,  the 
count  Christophe  of  Lucerna,  in  the  name  of  the  marquis  of  Pia- 
nezza, on  Saturday,  the  24th  of  April,  the  day  of  the  great  mas- 
sacre of  the  Vaudois,  four  or  five  hundred  soldiers  received  or- 
ders secretly  to  climb  the  path  which  would  bring  them  by  the 
mountain  of  Rummer  to  Rora.  They  would  have  taken  the  dis- 
trict by  surprise,  if,  through  the  Divine  mercy,  they  had  not  been 
discovered  at  a  distance  by  a  noble-hearted  man,  Joshua  Janavel, 
who  had  left  his  residence  at  les  Vignes,  near  Lucerna,  and  had 
retired  to  Rora  with  his  family.  He  was  keeping  watch  on  the 
rocks  with  six  men.  At  the  sight  of  the  danger,  instead  of  taking 
to  flight,  he  advanced  and  lay  in  ambush  in  an  advantageous  spot. 
A  sudden  discharge  of  all  the  pieces  of  this  little  troop  levelled 

*  See  the  authentic  declaration  of  these  horrors  given  by  M.  du  Petitbourg^ 
commanding  officer  of  the  regiment  of  Grance,  in  Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  115. 


258  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

six  of  their  enemies  to  the  ground,  and  terrified  the  head  of  the 
division  so  much  the  more,  as  they  could  not  see  the  persons  who 
had  fired  upon  it,  and  consequently  could  not  tell  their  number. 
The  soldiers,  already  prevented  from  keeping  together  by  the 
inequalities  of  the  road,  were  thrown  by  this  occurrence  into  the 
utmost  disorder.  They  fell  back,  rolled  one  over  another,  struck 
by  the  balls  of  Janavel  and  his  six  companions.  They  fled,  with- 
out having  the  courage  to  face  their  pursuers  for  an  instant,  leav- 
ing, besides  the  first  six,  fifty-three  or  fifty-four  others  dead,  ly- 
ing on  the  path  or  in  the  precipices. 

The  poor  people  of  Rora,  having  escaped  the  danger,  betook 
themselves  to  their  count  and  the  marquis  of  Pianezza  to  excul- 
pate themselves,  and  to  complain.  To  lull  them  into  a  false  se- 
curity, they  were  told  that  no  division  of  the  army  had  marched 
against  them ;  that  those  who  had  attacked  them  could  only  be 
Piedmontese  robbers,  whom  they  did  well  to  chastise,  and  that 
strict  orders  would  be  given  that  no  one  should  trouble  them  in 
future.  But  as  it  is  a  principle  of  popish  morality  not  to  keep 
faith  with  heretics,  on  the  very  next  day  six  hundred  soldiers, 
chosen  as  the  best  fitted  for  mountain  warfare,  took  a  route  some- 
what different,  by  the  Cassulet.  They  did  not  escape  the  lynx- 
eyed  Janavel.  This  valiant  and  prudent  warrior  watched  the 
movements  of  his  perfidious  enemy,  at  the  head  of  twelve  herds- 
men armed  with  fusils,  pistols,  and  cutlasses,  and  six  others 
equipped  only  with  slings  and  flints,  which  they  knew  how  to 
use  very  effectively.  Placed  betimes,  in  ambush  in  flank  and 
front,  at  a  very  advantageous  spot,  they  poured  on  the  head  of 
the  column  a  shower  of  balls  and  stones,  of  which  each  one  struck 
down  its  man.  The  enemies,  terrified  by  so  rude  an  assault,  and 
not  knowing  how  to  get  out  of  the  defile,  nor  how  to  pursue, 
amidst  thickets  and  rocks,  combatants  who  were  generally  invi- 
sible, sought  safety  in  flight,  leaving,  as  on  the  preceding  day, 
from  fifty  to  sixty  corpses. 

It  would  seem  almost  incredible  that  the  count  of  Lucerna 
should  attempt  to  represent  a  second  time  to  his  vassals  that  the 
attack  originated  in  a  mistake,  and  that  the  like  thing  should  not 
happen  again.  What  meanness,  joined  to  such  cruelty !  On  the 
following  day,  from  eight  to  nine  hundred  men  surrounded  Rora 
anew,  and  set  fire  to  all  the  houses  they  could  reach.  It  was  to 
be  feared  that  no  one  would  escape ;  but  Janavel  and  his  men, 


HEROIC  DEFENCE  OF  JANAVEL.        ^59 

seeing  the  soldiers  disband  themselves,  too  eager  for  plunder  and 
too  sure  of  their  victory,  attacked  them  so  courageously,  and, 
■with  God's  aid,  so  successfully,  in  a  place  called  Damasser,  that 
the  whole  division  fell  back  by  Pianpra  upon  La  Torre  and  Vil- 
laro,  abandoning  their  booty  and  the  cattle  they  had  taken,  which 
had  hampered  them,  and  was  a  principal  cause  of  their  defeat. 
Irritated  by  these  checks,  Pianezza  ordered  a  fourth  attack, 
for  which  he  assembled  all  his  disposable  troops,  as  well  as  all  the 
armed  men  that  could  be  obtained  from  Bagnolo,  Barge,  Famo- 
lasc,  Cavor,  and  other  places ;  but  on  the  day  appointed,  the 
troops  from  Bagnolo,  commanded  by  the  impetuous  and  cruel 
Mario,  being  at  the  rendezvous  before  the  rest,  who  still  delayed 
their  coming,  Mario,  urged  on  by  his  hatred  of  the  barbets,  and 
by  the  ambition  of  reaping  the  glory  of  the  expedition,  set  out 
at  the  head  of  his  band,  a  troop  of  Irishmen  and  some  other  de- 
tachments, and  reached  without  opposition  the  hamlet  of  Rum- 
mer, where  the  families  belonging  to  Rora  had  taken  refuge. 
There  Janavel's  seventeen  comrades  again  managed  to  choose 
their  point  of  defence  n  well  that  they  could  not  be  forced,  and 
after  a  long  and  obstinate  resistance,  they  saw  signs  of  confusion 
and  discouragement  arising  in  the  enemy's  ranks.  At  this 
decisive  moment,  it  pleased  God  to  sow  terror  in  the  hearts  of 
these  troops  that  a  few  hours  before  were  so  proud  and  confident. 
They  fled,  leaving  sixty-five  dead  on  the  spot.  Their  dismay 
was  increased  by  the  very  effect  of  their  hasty  flight ;  and  then, 
on  arriving  at  a  place  called  Petrocapello,  where  they  hoped  to 
be  able  to  take  breath,  the  unexpected  attack  of  Janavel  and  his 
heroes,  who  had  pursued  them,  completed  their  rout.  Unable 
to  escape  with  sufficient  speed  by  the  narrow  road  which  goes 
by  the  Lucerna,  the  wretched  men  pressed  on  one  another,  and 
fell  from  rock  to  rock  into  its  waves.  This  was  the  fate  of  the 
great  Mario  himself,  who  was  pulled  out  of  the  water  only  to  die 
at  Lucerna  in  inexpressible  anguish,  tormented  in  his  last  hours 
by  the  recollection  of  the  crimes  he  had  committed  in  this  valley. 
After  so  long  a  combat,  and  a  deliverance  so  miraculous,  Ja- 
navel and  his  troop,  harassed  with  fatigue,  were  seated  on  a  height, 
and  were  refreshing  themselves  by  a  slight  repast,  when  they 
observed  a  small  body  of  soldiers  from  Villaro  climbing  the  moun- 
tain, and  hoping,  no  doubt,  to  take  them  in  the  rear,  placed,  as 
they  imagined,  between  two  fires.     They  hastened  to  put  them- 


260  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

selves  in  an  advantageous  position.  Their  enemies,  as  they  ad- 
vanced, perceived  them,  and  sent  a  detachment  to  reconnoitre. 
The  Vaudois  allowed  them  to  advance,  and  when  challenged, 
instead  of  giving  the  countersign,  of  which  they  were  ignorant, 
beckoned  to  them  to  come  on.  The  soldiers,  taking  it  for  granted 
that  they  were  papist  peasants  belonging  to  the  expedition,  press- 
ed forward,  and  many  met  their  death  by  point-blank  shot.  Those 
whom  the  balls  had  missed  fled  with  all  their  might,  and  threw 
the  main  body  into  disorder,  which  was  exposed  in  a  disadvan- 
tageous position  on  account  of  its  declivity,  and  all  joined  in  the 
flight,  without  any  of  them  having  time  to  notice  the  number  of 
their  conquerors,  who  killed  many  more.  After  this  fresh  suc- 
cess, Janavel,  having  assembled  his  troops  on  a  rising  ground,  in- 
vited them,  as  he  always  did,  to  fall  down  with  him  on  their  knees, 
and  return  hearty  and  due  thanks  to  God,  the  Author  of  their 
deliverance. 

Three  days  after,  the  marquis  of  Pianezza  summoned  the 
people  of  Eora,  with  terrible  threats,  to  attend  mass  within  four- 
and-twenty  hours.  "  We  prefer  death  to  \he  mass,  a  hundred 
thousand  times,"  was  their  reply.  At  length,  the  marquis,  for 
the  purpose  of  reducing  five-and-twenty  families,  did  not  think 
it  too  much  to  assemble  eight  thousand  soldiers  and  two  thousand 
popish  peasants.  He  divided  this  army  into  three  bodies,  of 
which  two  were  to  penetrate  into  the  district  by  the  two  roads 
already  mentioned,  namely,  by  the  road  of  the  Villar  and  that 
of  Lucerna.  The  third  crossed  the  mountains  which  separate 
Eora  from  Bagnolo.  Alas  !  while  Janavel  and  his  devoted  troop 
made  all  possible  resistance  to  the  first  division  which  presented 
itself,  the  two  others  reached  the  place  where  the  poor  families 
had  taken  refuge,  and  inflicted  on  them  all  the  horrible  cruelties 
we  have  already  enumerated,  and  which  our  pen  refuses  to 
describe  a  second  time.  Old  age,  infancy,  or  sex,  far  from  being 
a  safeguard,  seemed  only  to  excite  the  fury  and  base  passions  of 
these  men,  whom  no  discipline  kept  in  check.  A  hundred  and 
twenty-six  persons  met  with  an  agonizing  death.  The  wife  and 
three  daughters  of  the  captain  Janavel  were  reserved  for  prison, 
as  well  as  some  refugees  of  the  hamlet  of  Les  Vignes  in  Lucerna. 
Such  houses  as  were  still  standing  were  set  on  fire,  after  every- 
thing valuable  had  been  removed.  The  conquerors  divided  the 
booty  among  themselves. 


JANAVEL  REFUSES  TO  ABJURE.        261 

Janavel  and  his  friends  had  escaped  the  disaster.  Pianezza, 
probably  fearing  the  resentment  of  men  who  had  nothing  more 
to  lose,  wrote  to  the  hero  of  Rora,  offering  him  his  own  life  and 
that  of  his  wife  and  daughters  if  he  renounced  his  heresy,  but 
threatening  him,  on  the  contrary,  if  he  persisted  in  it,  with  the 
loss  of  his  head,  and  that  his  family  should  be  burned  to  death. 
Far  from  being  subdued  by  these  menaces,  this  man,  worthy  of  the 
name  of  Vaudois,  replied,  "  That  there  were  no  torments  so  cruel, 
nor  death  so  barbarous,  which  he  could  not  prefer  to  abjuration ; 
that  if  the  marquis  made  his  wife  and  daughters  pass  through 
the  fire,  the  flames  could  only  consume  their  poor  bodies ;  that, 
as  for  their  souls,  he  commended  them  to  God,  trusting  them  in 
His  hands  equally  with  his  own,  in  case  it  were  His  pleasure  that 
he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  executioners."  One  of  his 
little  boys,  eight  years  old,  had  escaped  the  massacre.  Janavel, 
almost  destitute  of  provisions,  powder,  and  ball,  made  his  way 
with  his  troop  through  the  snows  of  the  lofty  mountains  in  the 
neighbourhood,  carrying  his  child  on  his  back,  and  having  de- 
posited him  at  Queyras,  on  the  French  territory,  and  rested  a 
few  days,  he  and  his  men  repassed  the  lofty  Alps,  bringing  with 
him  a  smaller  number  of  refugees  well  armed.  They  returned 
to  increase  the  little  Vaudois  army,  which,  since  the  massacres, 
had  been  forming  on  the  mountains  of  Bobbio,  Villaro,  and 
Angrogna. 

During  these  conflicts  at  Rora,  the  other  valleys  had  also 
been  threatened.  The  lords  of  San  Martino  had  done  their 
utmost  to  induce  its  inhabitants  to  make  their  submission  and 
abjure  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  warning  them  seriously  that  a 
division  of  the  army  would  invade  and  punish  them  if  they  re- 
fused to  yield.  Far  from  complying,  they  took  up  arms,  and 
succeeded  by  their  courage  in  warding  off  the  evils  which  had 
crushed  the  valley  of  Lucerna.  The  valley  of  Perosa  also  suf- 
fered ;  but  its  calamities  were  far  less  aggravated  than  those  we 
have  described  in  the  preceding  narrative. 

Meanwhile,  those  who  had  escaped  from  Rora,  Bobbio,  An- 
grogna, La  Torre,  and  San  Giovanni,  with  whom  were  joined 
a  few  of  their  brethren  from  the  other  valleys,  had  armed  them- 
selves, and  formed,  when  they  were  all  assembled  together,  (not 
a  very  frequent  occurrence,)  a  body  of  about  five  hundred  com- 
batants.    In  most  of  the  encounters,  they  mustered  not  above 


262  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

half  this  number,  and  often  hardly  one-third.  This  little  army, 
masters  of  the  mountains,  which  were  abandoned  by  the  enemy 
after  all  the  villages  and  hamlets  upon  them  had  been  burned, 
was  continually  scattered  abroad,  either  to  obtain  subsistence  or 
to  avoid  danger,  and  then  reassembled  to  fall  unexpectedly  on 
detached  bodies  of  the  Piedmontese  army,  which  was  stationed 
in  the  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets,  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley 
of  Lucerna.  The  Vaudois  fought  several  battles  in  the  latter 
days  of  May,  and  in  the  months  of  June  and  July.  They  ob- 
tained even  considerable  success  under  the  conduct  of  the  valiant 
captai ns  Janavel  and  Jayer.  This  latter  officer  was  from  Pramol . 
In  one  of  their  expeditions  they  surprised  the  town  of  San 
Seeondo,  which  was  filled  with  their  enemies.  By  the  aid  of 
casks,  which  they  had  found  in  the  first  houses  that  were  stormed, 
and  rolled  before  them  as  a  protection,  they  approached  so  near 
the  fortress  into  which  the  governor  had  retired,  that  they  burned 
the  gate  by  means  of  bundles  of  vine-branches  which  they  set  on 
fire.  They  did  the  same  at  the  door  of  a  large  hall,  in  which 
the  soldiers,  pressing  one  upon  another,  had  taken  their  last 
refuge.  These  unfortunate  creatures,  mostly  Irishmen,  whose 
cruelty  had  been  unparalleled  in  the  massacres,  could  excite  no 
pity  in  those  whose  sisters,  daughters,  and  wives  they  had  dis- 
honoured, and  whom  they  had  deprived  of  fathers,  mothers,  and 
children.  They  considered  that  they  treated  them  with  suffi- 
cient lenity  by  putting  them  at  once  to  the  sword,  without  any 
preparatory  torture  except  the  thought  of  death.  Very  differ- 
ently from  their  enemies,  they  spared  the  lives  of  the  aged,  of 
children,  and  the  sick,  and  respected  the  females  here  as  in  all 
other  places.  In  this  manner  they  acted  during  the  whole 
course  of  the  war.  Only,  either  by  way  of  reprisal,  or  to  de- 
prive their  enemies  of  this  post,  they  set  fire  to  the  town,  after 
having  taken  out  whatever  could  be  carried  away,  a  booty  in 
which  they  found  part  of  that  which  had  been  taken  from  them- 
selves. The  Irish  regiment  lost  several  hundred  men  by  this 
defeat :  the  Piedmontese  troops  sustained  about  an  equal  loss. 

Encouraged  by  this  success,  the  little  Vaudois  army  dared  to 
approach  Bricherasco,  and  to  ravage  the  cottages  or  surround- 
ing dwellings.*     The   alarm  having  been  given  by  a  signal 

*  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  those  troops  had  no  other  supply  of  provisions 
for  their  daily  wants  than  what  they  procured  by  such  excursions. 


JANAVEL  IS  WOUNDED.  "2b3 

agreed  upon,  they  saw  themselves  assailed  by  all  the  Pied- 
montese  forces  in  the  neighbourhood,  both  horse  and  foot.  As 
they  retreated  in  good  order,  they  often  charged  the  enemy  with 
advantage,  and  retired  with  only  one  killed  and  a  few  wounded. 
Shortly  after,  this  gallant  troop  appeared  before  the  town  of  La 
Torre,  which  was  fortified,  and  kept  the  garrison  there  in  check. 
From  the  mountains  of  Angrogna,  its  head-quarters,  it  sent  out 
a  strong  division  to  attack  the  town  of  Crussol,  in  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Po ;  at  their  approach,  the  inhabitants,  who  had 
done  much  mischief  in  the  massacres,  fled,  abandoning  their 
flocks,  which  the  Vaudois  drove  to  the  Alps  of  Villaro.*  They 
found  among  the  booty  many  of  their  own  cattle. 

Notwithstanding  the  absence  of  the  brave  Jayer,  who  was  en- 
gaged elsewhere,  Janavel  made  a  sudden  attack  on  Lucerna ; 
but  after  two  unsuccessful  assaults  he  retreated,  the  garrison 
having  been  reinforced  by  a  regiment,  of  which  he  was  not 
aware  on  his  arrival. 

Being  attacked  himself  by  three  thousand  of  the  enemy,  on 
one  of  the  heights  of  Angrogna,  and  having  on  his  side  only 
three  hundred  defenders,  he  still  made  head  against  them,  and 
repulsed  all  their  attempts.  And  when  the  assailants  retired, 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  having  lost,  by  their  own 
confession,  more  than  five  hundred  men,  Captain  Jayer  suddenly 
appeared  with  his  troop.  The  joy  of  his  return  raised  the 
courage  of  the  Vaudois  beyond  all  bounds.  Without  thinking 
of  their  fatigue,  they  rushed  into  the  plain,  threw  themselves 
with  fury  on  their  enemies,  who  were  retreating,  some  to  La 
Torre,  others  to  Lucerna,  and  slew  fifty  of  their  men,  besides 
three  officers  of  distinction.  But,  sad  to  relate,  at  the  end  of 
this  fierce  combat,  the  brave,  the  valiant,  the  pious  Janavel  fell. 
A  ball  passed  through  his  breast.  They  expected  every  moment 
that  he  would  breathe  his  last.  He  desired  to  speak  to  Jayer, 
who  succeeded  him  in  the  command.  He  gave  hiin  some  advice 
before  he  was  carried  to  a  distance  from  the  field  of  battle,  to 
Pinache,  in  the  valley  of  Perosa,  within  the  French  territory, 
where  by  degrees  he  recovered. 

This  day  was  destined  to  be  a  day  of  mourning  for  the  valleys. 
Forgetting  the  counsel  given  by  the  (apparently)  dying  Janavel 

*  One  object  of  this  expedition  was  to  procure  a  fresh  supply  of  cattle,  in  lien 
of  those  they  had  lost  during  the  massacres. 


264  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

not  to  undertake  anything  more  that  evening,  and  as  if  it  had 
not  been  enough  to  beat  the  enemy  on  their  retreat,  Jayer,  too 
impetuous,  and  deceived  by  a  traitor,  who  led  him  to  expect 
immense  booty  in  the  direction  of  Ousasq,  advanced  at  the  head 
of  a  hundred  and  fifty  picked  men,  to  throw  himself  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  Having  already  pillaged  and  burned  some 
cottages  on  the  heights,  he  suffered  himself  to  be  led  on  by  the 
traitor,  with  fifty  of  his  men,  towards  some  houses,  where  he 
was  all  at  once  surrounded  by  the  Savoy  cavalry,  wrho,  having 
received  an  intimation  of  his  coming,  were  waiting  in  ambush 
for  him.  Overpowered  by  numbers,  Jayer  died  as  a  hero,  to- 
gether with  his  son,  who  never  quitted  his  side,  and  all  his  com- 
panions, only  one  excepted.  He  killed  three  officers,  and  fell, 
after  a  long  defence,  covered  with  wounds.  Leger  has  described 
him  in  the  following  words  :  "  A  great  captain,  worthy  of  being 
held  in  remembrance ;  zealous  for  the  service  of  God,  alike 
capable  of  resisting  allurements  and  threats;  courageous  as  a 
lion,  and  meek  as  a  lamb,  rendering  God  alone  the  praise  of  all 
his  victories:  his  character  would  have  been  complete  had  he- 
known  how  to  curb  his  adventurous  boldness." 

The  valleys,  disheartened  for  a  brief  interval,  wore  reani- 
mated by  the  voices  of  Captain  Laurent,  of  the  valley  of  San 
Martin o,  and  of  a  brother  of  Jayer,  and  of  several  others.  In  a 
conflict  maintained  by  their  little  troops  against  six  thousand  of 
the  enemy,  they  slew  two  hundred  men,  among  whom  was  the 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Bavarian  regiment ;  but  on  their  side 
they  lost  the  excellent  Captain  Bertin,  of  Angrogna. 

At  the  beginning  of  July,  the  Vaudois  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  arrival  of  many  of  their  brethren  in  arms  from  Lan- 
guedoc  and  Dauphine  ;  one  of  them,  named  Descombies,  an  ex- 
perienced and  renowned  officer,  was  soon  after  made  com- 
mander-in-chief. Colonel  Andrion,  of  Geneva,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  France  and  Sweden,  as  well  as  in  the  val- 
leys, arrived  at  the  same  time.*  The  moderator,  Leger,  just 
returned  from  a  long  and  rapid  journey,  which  he  had  been 
making  in  France  and  Switzerland,  on  behalf  of  the  valleys, 
proceeded  immediately,  with  Colonel  Andrion,  to  the  mountain 
of  Angrogna,  called  La  Vachere,  where  the  little  Vaudois  army 

*  M.  de  Barcelona  also  came  thither  from  the  Pays  de  Vaud,  (Revue  Suisse. 
Lausanne,  1840,  iii,  270.) 


THE  SYNDIC  BIANCHI.  265 

had  thrown  up  some  intrenchments.  The  enemy,  as  if  they 
had  had  notice  of  their  arrival,  and  to  prevent  the  impulse  which 
it  might  give  to  the  energy  of  these  persecuted  herdsmen,  went 
up  to  take  them  by  surprise,  very  early  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, with  all  their  forces,  among  whom  were  some  fresh  troops. 
The  Vaudois,  being  timely  warned  by  their  scouts,  were  able  to 
concentrate  themselves  in  the  fortified  position  of  Casses.*  The 
duke's  army  divided  into  four  bodies,  of  which  one  remained  in 
observation  as  a  reserve,  made  the  assault  on  three  points  at 
once,  almost  incessantly  for  nearly  ten  hours,  and  at  last,  break- 
ing through  the  barricades,  forced  the  Vaudois  to  retreat,  pur- 
suing them  with  the  cry  of  "  Victory  !  victory  !"  to  the  foot  of 
the  last  fortified  height,  on  which  they  took  refuge  as  their  last 
earthly  asylum.  But  their  heavenly  Protector  so  strengthened 
them,  that  although  the  enemy  often  attacked  them  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  pike's  length,  they  defended  themselves  without  aban- 
doning the  post,  Their  supply  of  powder  and  ball  began  to  fail, 
which  would  have  been  fatal,  had  they  not  at  the  instant  had 
recourse  to  their  slings,  and  also  rolled  down  fragments  of  rock, 
which,  often  splitting  in  pieces  in  their  rapid  course  downward, 
struck  even  the  farthest  detachments.  Noticing  at  last  some 
hesitation  and  disorder  in  the  enemy's  ranks,  they  sallied  forth 
at  once  from  their  intrenchment,  a  pistol  in  one  hand,  and  a 
cutlass  (a  cubit  in  length,  and  two  or  three  fingers  broad)  in  the 
other,  and  struck  such  terror  in  the  exhausted  popish  troops,  that 
they  sounded  a  retreat.  More  than  two  hundred  soldiers  were 
slain,  and  as  many  severely  wounded.  The  Bavarian  regiment 
lost  some  of  its  best  officers. 

It  was  on  the  return  of  these  disappointed  troops,  and  at  the 
sight  of  the  wounded  and  the  dead,  that  the  syndic  Bianchi  of 
Lucerna,  although  a  papist,  playing  on  the  nickname  of  barbets, 
(synonymous  with  dogs,)  given  to  the  Vaudois,  exclaimed, 
"  Formerly  the  wolves  devoured  the  dogs,  but  now  the  time  is 
come  for  the  dogs  to  devour  the  wolves;"  a  speech  that  cost 
him  his  life. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  at  night,  the  Vaudois  army,  at  least 
eighteen  hundred   strong,  owing   to  the  reinforcements   from 

*  A  remarkable  succession  of  fragments  of  rocks  scattered  over  a  long  sur- 
face, forming,  with  the  declivity  of  the  mountain  from  which  they  had  been 
detached,  a  barrier  very  difficult  to  pass. 

12 


266  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

France,  of  whom  between  sixty  and  eighty  were  horsemen 
lately  mounted,  invested  the  town  of  La  Torre,  and  would  pro- 
bably have  taken  it  by  assault,  and  the  fort  too,*  if  the  new 
general  Descombies,  who  commanded  for  the  first  time,  had  bet- 
ter understood  the  ardour  and  intrepidity  of  the  mountaineers 
under  his  orders.  He  lost  time  in  reconnoitring  the  fort.  The 
alarm  was  given,  the  Piedmontese  regiments,  in  garrison  at  Lu- 
cerna  and  elsewhere,  arrived,  and  the  enterprise  failed.  Never- 
theless, Captain  Belin  and  Lieutenant  Peironnel  (also  called 
Gonnet)  forced  the  wall  of  the  convent  of  the  Capuchins,  took 
possession  of  it,  and  set  it  on  fire,  as  they  did  the  rest  of  the 
town,  made  prisoners  of  some  reverend  fathers,  and  did  not  re- 
tire till  the  enemy's  reinforcements,  joining  the  beaten  troops 
of  La  Torre  and  those  of  the  fort,  pressed  them  on  every  side. 

General  Descombies,  full  of  confidence  in  his  little  army,  was 
about  to  make  another  attack  on  the  fort  of  La  Torre,  intending 
to  march  afterwards  on  Lucerna,  when  a  truce  was  concluded, 
and  after  a  while  a  treaty,  which  put  an  end  to  all  the  military 
operations  of  the  Vaudois.  But,  before  speaking  of  this  negotia- 
tion, we  must  go  back  a  little,  to  show  the  effect  produced  by 
the  massacres  and  persecutions  of  the  Vaudois  on  the  Protestant 
populations  of  Europe  and  their  governments. 

A  cry  of  reprobation  had  resounded  throughout  all  the  re- 
formed countries,  on  hearing  the  bloody  recital  of  the  cruelties 
inflicted  on  their  brethren  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont.  A  thrill 
of  horror  pervaded  the  whole  Protestant  body.  Bitter  tears 
were  shed  at  the  remembrance  of  the  dead ;  and  at  the  recital 
of  the  woes  endured  by  the  survivors,  the  necessity  of  coming  to 
their  aid  seized  all  hearts,  both  of  rulers  and  their  subjects  alike. 
It  is  a  fact  deserving  of  perpetual  record,  that  the  reformed  na- 
tions were  moved  as  the  heart  of  one  man,  and  presented  to 
their  brethren  in  the  faith  a  beautiful  example  of  Christian 
charity.  Almost  all  the  churches  humbled  themselves  before 
God,  by  a  solemn  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  in  reference  to  the 
valleys ;  liberal  collections  were  made  at  the  same  time  in  every 
district,  to  furnish  those  who  had  escaped  with  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence, in  that  total  destitution  to  which  the  fury  of  their  ene- 

*  The  fort  here  spoken  of  was  not  that  situated  to  the  north  of  the  town,  the 
ruins  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen  ;  it  was  a  fortified  place,  situated  within  the 
town  itself,  and  which  had  been  raised  during  the  war.     Legei,  pt.  ii,  p.  264. 


MOVEMENTS  IN  FAVOUR  OF  THE  VAUDOIS.        267 

mies  had  reduced  them,  to  rebuild  their  houses  that  had  been 
burned  down,  to  procure  agricultural  implements,  and  the  neces- 
sary supply  of  cattle  of  which  they  had  been  deprived. 

But  what  would  this  succour  have  availed,  to  whatever  extent 
it  had  been  given,  if  the  poor  persecuted  Vaudois  had  been  left 
without  protection,  under  the  heavy  and  painful  yoke  of  iron 
which  galled  their  neck  ?  Something  more  was  needed  than 
pecuniary  aid,  or  than  letters  of  sympathy  and-  consolation ;  it 
was  requisite  that  Christian  charity  should  be  shown,  by  direct 
application  to  the  Piedmontese  government,  to  obtain  from  it 
assurances  and  guarantees  of  peace  in  reference  to  the  op- 
pressed. 

The  honour  of  the  first  movement  in  favour  of  the  persecuted 
Vaudois,  belongs  to  the  evangelical  cantons  of  Switzerland. 
Their  religious  zeal  and  their  charity  shone  with  the  purest  lus- 
tre ;  their  anxiety  had  been  manifested  before  the  massacres. 
In  fact,  scarcely  had  they  been  informed  of  the  cruel  order 
published  by  Gastaldo,  when  they  wrote  to  the  duke,  on  the  6th 
of  March,  a  most  respectful  letter,  in  which  they  entreat  him  to 
allow  his  Vaudois  subjects  to  remain  in  their  ancient  habitations, 
and  to  ensure  them  liberty  of  conscience  by  the  maintenance  of 
their  hereditary  privileges.  And  when  the  news  of  the  massa- 
cres reached  them,  rapid  and  overpowering  as  a  thunderbolt, 
they  forthwith,  on  the  29th  of  April,  appointed  a  fast  and  col- 
lections through  all  their  territories,  and  on  the  next  day  they 
informed  the  Protestant  powers,  in  pathetic  epistles,  of  what  had 
occurred  in  the  Vaudois  valleys  of  Piedmont,  calling  upon  them 
to  interest  themselves  in  their  future  fortunes.  As  for  them- 
selves, without  waiting  for  the  effect  of  their  suggestions,  they 
deputed  Colonel  de  Weiss,  (or  de  Wyss,)  of  Berne,  to  the  court 
of  Turin,  with  directions  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  dowager 
duchess,  and  of  Charles  Emmanuel,  a  letter  of  intercession  in 
favour  of  their  afflicted  brethren. 

The  Swiss  deputy  accomplished  little  by  his  mission ;  he  was 
received,  it  is  true,  by  their  highnesses,  but  was  referred,  for  ne- 
gotiations, to  the  deceitful  and  fanatical  Pianezza,  with  whom  he 
could  make  no  arrangements.  This  man  attempted  to  employ 
him  to  disarm  the  persecuted  Vaudois ;  but  de  Weiss  not  being 
able  to  guarantee  them  an  honourable  treaty,  things  remained  in 
the  same  state  in  which  he  found  them.     At  all  events,  he  ascer- 


268  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

tained  the  real  state  of  affairs  by  personal  observation.  He  re- 
turned soon  after,  to  render  an  account  of  his  mission  to  his  supe- 
riors. 

The  evangelical  cantons,  far  from  being  discouraged  by  having 
Obtained  nothing,  resolved  to  send  an  embassy  to  offer  their  me- 
diation between  the  two  parties  actually  in  arms,  and  which 
should  strive  to  obtain  for  the  Yaudois,  from  the  duke,  liberty  to 
dwell  in  any  part  of  the  valleys,  the  restoration  of  their  posses- 
sions, and  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion.  The  cantons,  by 
fresh  communications,  informed  the  Protestant  states  of  the  situa- 
tion of  the  Vaudois,  as  well  as  the  steps  which  their  deputies  were 
going  to  take,  and  invited  them  to  support  their  intervention  by 
letters,  or,  still  better,  by  ambassadors. 

All  the  Protestant  powers  answered  to  this  appeal.  Besides 
the  collections  which  they  ordered  in  all  their  towns  and  country 
places,  they  all  wrote  to  the  duke  of  Savoy,  to  entreat  him  to  act 
differently  with  his  subjects  of  the  Protestant  religion.  The  king 
of  Sweden,  the  elector  Palatine,  the  elector  of  Brandenburgh, 
the  landgrave  of  Hesse  Cassel,  gave  special  proofs  of  their  great 
zeal  in  the  management  of  this  affair ;  but  the  greatest  efforts 
proceeded  from  the  cantons  already  named,  from  Great  Britain, 
then  under  the  protectorate  of  Cromwell,  and  the  United  Pro- 
vinces of  Holland.  England,  still  agitated  by  its  own  religious 
movements,  entered  warmly  into  the  case  of  the  Yaudois,  fasted, 
and  made  liberal  collections.  Oliver  Cromwell  displayed  great 
zeal,  wrote  to  the  Protestant  states,  and  interfered  by  an  embassy, 
first  to  Louis  XIY.,  allied  to  the  house  of  Savoy,  and  whose  re- 
giments had  taken  part  in  the  massacres,  and  afterwards  to  Charles 
Emmanuel.  Sir  Samuel  Morland,  a  young  diplomatist  equally 
intelligent  and  pious,  attempted  to  interest  the  French  monarch 
in  giving  succour  to  the  victims  of  his  own  soldiers,  and  received 
at  least  some  promises.  On  his  arrival  at  Turin,  at  the  end  of 
June,  he  obtained  an  audience,  and  having  expressed  a  severe 
judgment  on  the  atrocities  committed,  he  claimed  from  the  jus- 
tice and  generosity  of  the  prince,  in  the  name  of  his  government, 
gentler  measures,  and  the  re-establishment  of  the  Yaudois  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  property,  their  ancient  privileges,  and  their 
liberties. 

While  Sir  Samuel  Morland  was  on  his  way  to  Geneva,  towards 
the  end  of  July,  the  lord  protector  of  Great  Britain  sent  a  new 


MEDIATION  OF  FRANCE.  269 

plenipotentiary  to  Turin,  Sir  —  Dunning,  who,  after  having  seen 
Sir  Samuel  Morland,  was  directed  to  visit  Piedmont,  in  company 
with  him  and  Mr.  Pell,  the  English  resident  in  Switzerland,  in 
order  to  conduct  the  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the  Vaudois  and 
bring  them  to  a  successful  termination. 

At  the  same  period,  the  states-general  at  the  United  Provinces 
deputed  for  the  same  object  M.  Van  Ommeren,  with  orders  to 
act  in  concert  with  the  English  ambassador  and  the  evangelical 
cantons.  The  latter  had  already  despatched  their  ambassadors 
at  the  commencement  of  the  month.  They  did  not  meet  Sir 
Samuel  Morland,  who  had  returned  from  Geneva  by  another 
road.  Sir  —  Dunning  and  M.  Van  Ommeren  arrived  in  Switzer- 
land still  later.  The  embassy  of  the  evangelical  cantons  found 
itself  therefore  alone  in  the  effort  to  accomplish  this  difficult  mis- 
sion. This  was  a  great  evil.  The  absence  of  the  envoys  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  Provinces  gave  a  decisive  influence 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  party,  represented  by  the  ambassador  of 
the  king  of  France,  and  permitted  the  hasty  conclusion  of  an  ar- 
rangement which  was  far  from  advantageous  to  the  poor  Vaudois. 

While  on  their  way,  the  Swiss  ambassadors  were  informed  that 
the  mediation  of  the  king  of  France  in  the  affairs  of  the  Vaudois 
had  been  accepted  by  the  duke,  nevertheless  they  continued  their 
journey,  and  met  with  an  honourable  reception.  This  embassy 
consisted  of  Solomon  Hirzel,  Stadtholder  of  Zurich,  Charles  de 
Bonstetten,  baron  de  Vaumarcus,  etc.,  counsellor  of  Berne,  Be- 
nedict Socin,  counsellor  of  Bale,  and  Jean  Stockar  of  Schaffhau- 
sen,  formerly  a  magistrate  of  Locarno.  Under  pretence  that 
the  acceptance  of  the  mediation  of  the  king  of  France  would  not 
allow  an  arrangement  to  be  made  with  any  other  party,  the  court  of 
Turin  would  not  enter  on  the  discussion  of  the  subject  with  them, 
but  allowed  the  ambassadors  to  follow  the  negotiation,  and  to  in- 
terest themselves  about  the  Vaudois.  The  deputies,  in  conse- 
quence, betook  themselves  to  Pignerol,  at  that  time  a  city  belong- 
ing to  France,  some  leagues  from  the  valleys,  which  the  ambas- 
sador of  France,  de  Servient,  had  assigned  to  the  parties  for 
their  abode. 

The  arrangement  was  a  work  of  labour.  The  first  fortnight 
in  August  was  spent  in  recriminations  and  explanations,  in  ani- 
mated debates,  in  suing  for  their  liberties  on  the  part  of  the  Vau- 
dois, in  insidious  proposals  from  some  delegates  of  the  court,  and 


270  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

in  friendly  offices  on  the  part  of  the  evangelical  commissioners.* 
At  last,  on  the  18th,  the  agreement  was  concluded,  and  the  peace 
signed.  The  conditions  would  have  been  doubtless  more  advan- 
tageous to  the  Vaudois,  if  the  ambassadors  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  Provinces,  as  well  as  those  of  the  evangelical  cantons, 
had  been  present,  Sir  Samuel  Morland,  it  is  true,  wrote  from 
Geneva  to  the  Swiss  deputation,  requesting  them  to  protract  the 
negotiations,  and,  if  possible,  to  put  off  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty 
till  their  arrival,  which  would  be  at  no  distant  time.  But  it  is 
doubtful  whether  these  diplomatists  would  have  been  allowed  to 
exercise  any  direct  interference,  since  the  mediation  of  the  king 
of  France  had  been  accepted  by  the  duke,  and  the  Protestant 
princes  themselves  had  solicited  the  concurrence  of  that  ambi- 
tious monarch,  who  now  claimed  to  act  alone.  Moreover,  the  de- 
plorable state  of  the  valleys  required  a  speedy  settlement.  Plun- 
dered, and  a  prey  to  all  the  miseries  of  war,  they  sighed  after 
repose.  Their  families,  without  provisions  and  without  homes 
during  two  months,  could  wait  no  longer.  Their  representa- 
tives, with  the  pastor  Leger  at  their  head,  all  persons  in  whom 
they  could  confide,  thought  they  did  well  in  accepting  conditions 
which,  without  being  entirely  satisfactory,  secured  to  them  a 
dwelling-place  in  the  greater  part  of  their  ancient  limits,  the  sale 
of  their  goods  in  some  localities  which  it  would  be  necessary  to 
leave,  and  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion  throughout  the  whole 
extent  of  the  new  limits,  besides  exemption  from  all  imposts  for 
a  certain  term  of  years.  The  release  of  all  the  prisoners,  inclu- 
ding the  children  who  had  been  carried  off,  and  a  full  amnesty, 
were  also  stipulated  at  the  same  time. 

The  districts  which  the  Vaudois  were  interdicted  from  settling 
in,  and  in  which  they  must  dispose  of  all  their  goods,  were  the 
following  communes,  mostly  popish,  in  the  plain  of  Lucerna,  and 

*  The  narrative  of  the  negotiation  would  have  been  very  instructive  and  use- 
ful. It  would  have  set  in  a  clear  light  the  intentions  of  those  hard-hearted  men 
who  felt  no  regret  but  that  of  not  having  been  able  to  get  rid  of  the  barbets  ;  but 
we  have  abstained  from  speaking  of  it  at  length,  because  our  narrative  is  al- 
ready too  full  of  harrowing  scenes,  and  atrocious  acts  which  provoke  indigna- 
tion, and,  if  multiplied,  would  banish  all  charity  from  our  hearts. 

The  king's  representative,  Servient,  endeavoured  to  entangle  the  Vaudois 
deputies,  and  to  gain  their  consent  to  proposals  of  which  he  concealed  the  bear- 
ing, and  which  tended  to  destroy  them.  See,  for  instance,  his  conduct  in  re- 
ference to  the  fort  of  La  Torre,  in  Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  264, 


PROTEST  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  DEPUTIES.  271 

specified  in  Gastaldo's  order,  namely,  Lucerna,  Lucernette,  Bib- 
biana,  Fenile,  Campiglione,  Garsillana.  Permission  was  granted 
them  to  reside  in  La  Torre  and  San  Giovanni — an  amendment 
of  Gastaldo's  edict — but  with  the  reservation  that  the  temple  of 
San  Giovanni  was  not  to  be  within  the  commune,  and  that  there 
should  be  no  preaching  in  that  commune,  any  more  than  in  the 
town  of  La  Torre.  San  Secondo  was  closed  against  the  Vaudois, 
but  the  possession  of  Prarustin,  Saint  BarthClemi,  and  Roche- 
platte,  was  allowed  them,  as  in  times  past,  together  with  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  religion  in  those  villages.  Liberty  to  dwell  in  the 
city  of  Bricherasco  might  be  obtained  by  special  license.  These 
alterations  excepted,  the  limits  remained  the  same  as  before. 
The  other  communes  of  the  valleys  of  Lucerna  and  Angrogna, 
Perosa,  and  San  Martino,  retained  their  privileges. 

The  duke  reserved  to  himself  the  right  of  celebrating  mass, 
and  placing  priests  or  monks  in  whatever  places  he  thought  pror 
per ;  but  in  return  he  guaranteed  to  all  liberty  of  conscience, 
and  the  exercise  of  their  worship  within  the  new  limits.  A  se- 
parate article  confirmed  the  ancient  franchise,  the  prerogatives 
and  privileges  granted  and  settled  in  times  past.  The  act  was 
attested  by  the  duke's  signature,  and  that  of  some  of  his  ministers. 
The  numerous  deputation  from  the  valleys  also  signed  it.  It  was 
ratified  by  the  senate  and  chamber. 

Notwithstanding  the  urgent  request  of  the  deputies  from  the 
valleys,  no  mention  was  made  in  the  act  of  the  intercession  of 
the  Swiss  embassy,  as  the  French  ambassador  refused  his  con- 
sent that  any  other  name  than  his  master's  should  weaken,  by 
sharing  it,  his  title  of  mediator. 

The  Vaudois  suffered  two  other  mortifications — that  of  seeing 
themselves  described  in  the  preamble  of  the  treaty  as  rebels,  to 
whom  their  prince  had  graciously  remitted  the  punishment 
which  their  offences  deserved ;  and,  secondly,  of  reading  in  the 
printed  edition  of  this  charter  an  article  expressing  the  consent 
of  the  valleys  to  the  erection  of  a  new  fort  at  La  Torre,  shame- 
fully interpolated,  in  order  to  effect  the  ruin  of  the  poor  Vau- 
dois. All  their  deputies  protested  against  this  infamous  trickery. 
The  Swiss  ambassadors,  who  were  present  at  the  treaty,  declared 
they  had  no  recollection  of  such  an  article.  Moreover,  during 
the  whole  of  the  negotiation,  they  had  insisted  on  the  demolition 
of  the  existing  fort,  which  was  promised  them.     They  even  at 


272  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

one  time  manifested  an  intention  of  not  leaving  Turin  till  they 
had  been  apprized  that  the  demolition  had  been  begun. 

We  should  have  preferred  passing  over  in  silence  such  a  mis- 
deed ;  but  the  mention  of  it  was  requisite  in  order  to  understand 
subsequent  events. 

The  plenipotentiaries  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  Pro- 
vinces, who  had  been  detained  in  Switzerland  by  business 
during  the  negotiation  at  Pinerolo,  felt  great  dissatisfaction  on 
learning  that  it  was  terminated ;  for  they  wished  to  obtain  better 
conditions  for  the  Yaudois.  They  exerted  themselves  to  induce 
the  evangelical  cantons  to  make  fresh  proposals  to  the  duke,  with 
a  view  to  revise  and  modify  the  treaty  or  charter  of  Pinerolo. 
But  the  war  which  broke  out  between  the  Catholic  and  evan- 
gelical cantons  would  not  allow  the  latter  to  involve  themselves 
in  fresh  perplexities.  The  commissioners  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  Provinces  then  turned  towards  Paris,  and  solicited 
from  Louis  XI Y.  the  revision  of  the  treaty,  of  which  he  was 
the  mediator.  The  king  did  not  absolutely  refuse.  M.  de  Bais 
was  sent  to  the  valleys  and  to  the  court  of  Turin  to  collect  fresh 
information ;  but  it  is  probable  that  this  mission  was  undertaken 
merely  to  save  appearances.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  nothing 
came  of  it.  Louis  XIY.  and  Charles  Emmanuel  were  quite  of 
one  mind. 

It  now  remains  for  us  to  state  the  amount,  as  near  as  may  be, 
of  the  sums  collected,  in  the  Protestant  states,  in  aid  of  the  de- 
solated valleys,  and  the  use  that  was  made  of  it. 

On  the  25th  of  July,  the  sums  received  from  France  amounted 
to  200,000  francs.  From  the  beginning  of  March,  1655,  to  the 
1st  of  November,  1656,  the  Yaudois  had  received  from  France, 
England,  Holland,  and  Switzerland,  upwards  of  504,885  francs, 
and  from  the  city  of  Zurich  alone  3,778  florins.* 

It  would  appear,  however,  that  the  sum  total  was  even  more 
than  this.  We  are  led  to  believe  so  from  the  fact  stated  by 
Leger — that  of  the  collections  made  in  England,  the  Protector 
deducted  and  pledged  the  state  for  £16,000  sterling,!  equal  to 
400,000  French  francs,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  employed 
to  pension  the  pastors,  school-masters,  and  students  of  the  valleys, 


*  Revue  Suisse,  t.  iii,  p.  273,  for  this  last  sum. 

t  Mr.  G.  Lowther  says,  "more  than  twelve  thousand  pounds  sterling." 


COLLECTIONS  AND  DISTRIBUTIONS.  273 

etc.*  If  a  sum  of  400,000  francs  could  be  deducted  for  an  object 
which  was  not  strictly  identical  with  that  for  which  the  collec- 
tions were  made,  their  amount  must  necessarily  have  been  at 
least  as  much  again,  and  even  more  than  thatf  And  if  to  the 
400,000  or  500,000  francs  which  must  have  been  sent  fron  Eng- 
land, we  add  the  200,000  sent  by  the  French  Protestants  in  the 
month  of  July,  1655,  and  the  sums  which  came  from  Switzer- 
land, Holland,  and  Germany,  we  shall  have  a  total  sum  of  more 
than  a  million  francs. 

It  was  thought  proper  at  the  time,  for  prudential  reasons, 
which  may  easily  be  imagined,  not  to  publish  to  the  world  the 
large  amount  of  donations  sent  by  the  charity  of  the  Protestants. 
Nevertheless,  accounts  carefully  prepared  were  rendered  by  the 
consistories  of  Geneva  and  Grenoble,  to  whom  all  the  sums  had 
been  sent,  and  who  superintended  their  distribution  by  commis- 
sioners. These  officers,  in  concert  with  the  general  assembly 
of  the  valleys,  had  determined  what  course  to  pursue  in  the  dis- 
tributions ;  they  formed  a  scale  of  division  according  to  the  losses 
sustained  and  the  circumstances  of  the  communes,  as  well  as  of 
individuals,  leaving  to  competent  persons  appointed  by  the  com- 
munes the  particular  appraisement  of  damages  and  estimate  of 
the  relief  needed.  Lastly,  a  commission  of  four  members,  all 
strangers  to  the  valleys,  was  employed  for  three  whole  months 
in  revising  all  the  accounts  of  distribution,  visiting  the  places, 
and  there,  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  commune,  hearing 
the  appeals  and  giving  the  final  decision.  The  proceedings  of 
this  commission  were  afterwards  approved,  and  all  the  accounts 
adopted,  by  the  consistories  of  Grenoble  and  Geneva,  afterwards 
by  the  synod  of  Dauphine,  and  lastly  by  the  national  synod  of 
Loudun. 

Nevertheless,  strange  and  calumnious  reports  were  put  in  cir- 
culation to  the  discredit  of  those  members  of  the  valleys  who 

*  This  sum  was  lost,  in  great  part,  on  the  accession  of  Charles  II.,  who  would 
not  acknowledge  the  engagements  of  the  Protector  as  valid. 

t  In  fact,  the  sum  total  of  the  English  contributions  is  reckoned  at  917,784  of 
French  francs,  including  the  above  sum  of  400,000  francs.  (See  "  Catholicism," 
etc.,  by  George  Lowther,  vol.  i,  p.  294,  published  in  1827.) 

[The  Protector  gave  £2,000  out  of  his  own  private  purse.  The  sum  total  of 
the  collections  amounted  to  £38,241  10s.  6d.,  of  which  the  cities  of  London  and 
Westminster  contributed  £9,384  6s.  lid.  Jones's  History  of  the  Waldenses, 
2d  ed.,  1816,  vol.  ii,  pp.  345.  367.  The  sums  collected  in  each  county  through- 
out England  and  Wales  are  given  in  Morland's  History,  p.  588.] 

12* 


274  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

took  part  in  the  management  of  this  business.  The  principal 
promoter  of  these  falsehoods  was  a  man  named  de  Longueil, 
once  a  Jesuit,  a  pretended  convert  to  the  gospel,  to  whom  the 
school  at  Villaro  had  been  intrusted.  The  second  person  was 
the  same  Bertram  Villeneuve  who  had  been  bribed  by  Pianezza, 
and  in  1653  had  almost  effected  the  ruin  of  the  valleys  by  pro- 
posing the  expulsion  of  the  monks  from  Villaro,  and  the  burning 
of  their  dwelling.  These  men  contrived  their  plot  in  secret, 
conjointly  with  two  other  accomplices.  They  made  the  envious 
and  discontented — a  class  of  people  that  always  abound  when 
anything  is  to  be  given  away — believe  that  a  considerable  sum 
was  left,  which  the  chief  persons  in  the  valleys  had  set  apart  for 
themselves,  and  which,  if  divided  amongst  all,  would  give  each 
one  a  dividend  of  five  hundred  livres  at  least,  perhaps  fifteen 
hundred.  The  credulous  people,  whom  these  deceivers  had 
filled  with  discontent,  deputed  some  of  their  number  to  make  a 
complaint  to  the  French  synods ;  but  the  examination  which  was 
made  afresh  of  all  the  accounts  confounded  the  accusers,  and  wiped 
away  all  suspicion  from  the  accused.  Yet  so  industriously  had 
the  enemies  of  the  Vaudois  propagated  this  calumny,  that  it 
was  still  credited  by  a  number  of  distrustful  persons.  The 
European  public,  even  the  Protestant  part  of  it,  gave  a  partial 
credit  to  it,  which  sensibly  injured  the  Vaudois  when  they  were 
visited  with  new  desolations,  in  1663  and  1654. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

PERSECUTION    AND    EMIGRATION,   1656-1686. 

The  ambassadors  of  the  evangelical  cantons  of  Switzerland  had 
recrossed  the  Alps,  carrying  with  them  the  consoling  remem- 
brance of  the  efforts  they  had  made  to  obtain  a  tolerable  peace 
for  their  brethren  in  the  valleys.  Some  verbal  promises  of  the 
agents  of  the  court  had  given  them  a  hope  that  the  treaty  in 
which  they  had  concurred  would  be  executed  in  a  comprehen- 
sive and  liberal  manner.  Moreover,  it  had  been  agreed  that  the 
fort  of  La  Torre  should  be  demolished  at  as  early  a  period  as 
would  consist  with  the  honour  of  the  duke,  who  was  not  to  ap- 
pear submissive  to  his  subjects.     But  the  facts  by  no  means  cor- 


VEXATIONS  COMMITTED  BY  THE  GARRISON.       275 

responded  with  the  words.  Not  only  the  clauses  of  the  charter  of 
Pinerolo  that  were  most  unfavourable  to  the  Vaudois  were  main- 
tained in  all  their  rigour,  but  all  haste  was  made  to  execute  the 
article  which  had  been  deceitfully  foisted  into  the  printed  copies, 
and  which,  contrary  to  the  promises  that  had  been  made  to  the 
Swiss  embassy,  declared  that  a  fortress  should  be  built  on  the 
ancient  site  of  the  castle  of  La  Torre,  demolished  by  the  French 
in  1593.  The  deputies  of  the  evangelical  cantons  had  not  yet 
quitted  Turin  when  the  works  were  already  begun,  and  the 
foundations  of  a  formidable  fortress  laid  on  the  very  spot  where 
the  soldiers  of  the  Count  de  la  Trinite  had  committed  so  many 
acts  of  violence,  and  whence  Castrocaro  had  issued  his  com- 
mands over  the  whole  valley.  Hirzel  and  his  colleagues,  having 
received  timely  information,  demanded  an  explanation.  They 
were  told  that  what  had  been  done  would  not  last  long,  and 
would  never  be  finished ;  that  these  works  were  merely  to  save 
the  duke's  honour. 

Faithful  to  the  traditional  Helvetic  loyalty,  the  ambassadors, 
incapable  themselves  of  deceiving,  did  not  suspect  falsehood  in  a 
government  which  pledged  its  word.  They  therefore  encou- 
raged the  disturbed  and  anxious  Vaudois,  and  advised  them  to  be 
patient  and  submissive.*  The  Yaudois  were  certainly  not  quite 
so  confiding ;  experience  of  the  past,  and  the  nearness  of  the 
danger,  served  to  enlighten  them ;  yet  they  submitted,  habitu- 
ated as  they  were  to  bow  to  the  will  of  their  sovereign  on  all 
points  not  within  the  province  of  religion.  The  works  were 
pushed  on  with  so  much  vigour,  that,  before  winter,  the  place 
was  in  a  state  of  defence,  and  in  the  following  year  the  fortifica- 
tions were  finished. 

If  the  erection  of  a  citadel  occasioned  the  Vaudois  serious 
apprehensions  for  the  future,  the  powerful  garrison  that  was 
placed  in  it  became  an  immediate  and  constant  source  of  humi- 
liation, injury,  and  vexation.  The  soldiers  committed  all  sorts 
of  excesses,  and  seemed  sure  of  impunity  in  most  cases.  It  con- 
stituted their  amusement  to  lay  waste  the  orchards  and  vine- 
yards, to  enter  the  houses,  seize  upon  whatever  they  pleased, 
glut  themselves  with  wine  and  provisions,  to  spoil  or  scatter  on 
the  ground  what  they  could  not  carry  away,  to  ill-treat  those 

*  Hirzel  wrote  in  1662  to  Leger :  "We  have  been  too  well  taught  by  expe- 
rience the  deceitful  practices  of  this  court."    Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  2f>5. 


276  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

who  attempted  to  protect  their  property,  and  to  conduct  them- 
selves with  indecency  towards  the  females,  old  and  young.  To 
strike  with  the  sabre,  to  discharge  fire-arms,  to  take  what  was 
not  their  own,  to  outrage  the  weaker  sex,  were  daily  occur- 
rences :  even  rape  and  assassination  were  committed.  When 
complaints  were  made,  they  led  to  no  result.  "  Seize  the 
offenders,  bring  them  to  me,  and  I  engage  to  punish  them," 
said  the  commandant  de  Coudre ;  but  when,  one  day,  some 
peasants  brought  before  him  two  soldiers  whom  they  had  appre- 
hended in  the  act  of  robbing  a  house,  and  ill-treating  its  owners, 
the  commandant  sent  them  to  prison,  only  to  release  them  as 
soon  as  the  complainants  had  turned  their  backs.  Informations 
laid  before  the  president  Truchi,  or  the  magistrate,  even  when 
accompanied  with  the  necessary  documents  stating  the  nature 
of  the  offence,  and  describing  the  culprits,  remained  without 
effect.  In  consequence,  on  several  occasions,  the  Vaudois,  irri- 
tated with  the  increasing  audacity  of  their  bad  neighbours,  might 
be  seen  defending  their  threatened  property,  or  recovering  it 
with  their  own  hands,  when  they  found  themselves  the  strongest. 
To  this  permanent  source  of  disquietude  another  was  very  soon 
added.  Accusations,  without  reason,  were  made  against  persons 
of  note.  The  Council  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  the 
Extirpation  of  Heretics,  could  invent  no  more  certain  method 
of  getting  rid  of  men  whose  influence  they  feared,  or  to  intimi- 
date such  as  might  be  disposed  to  tread  in  their  steps.  Accord- 
ingly, all  at  once  thirty-eight  persons  in  the  valley  of  Luccrna 
received  orders  to  proceed  to  Turin,  to  answer  such  questions 
as  should  be  put  to  them.  The  valiant  Captain  Janavel,  the 
hero  of  Rora,  was  one  of  them.  The  first  two  summonses  con- 
tained no  explanation.  The  third  and  last  alone  mentioned  the 
crime  imputed  to  them,  and  denounced  their  condemnation  for 
contumacy  if  they  refused  to  present  themselves.  This  mode 
of  proceeding  was  contrary  to  the  grants  and  privileges  of  the 
valleys,  confirmed  by  the  charter  of  Pinerolo.  Regularly,  they 
were  not  bound,  either  on  a  first  or  second  suit,  for  a  criminal 
or  civil  cause,  to  answer  elsewhere  than  before  their  own  tribu- 
nals. To  this  first  reason  for  not  appearing  at  Turin  might  be 
added  a  second,  of  much  greater  importance  The  Inquisition 
had  its  seat  at  Turin.  The  light  it  always  arrogated  of  seizing 
its  victims  wherever  it  found  them,  in  spite  of  the  safe-conduct 


SYNOD  OF  THE  VAUDOIS  CHURCH.  277 

of*  princes,  and  of  removing  them  from  their  jurisdiction,  to  treat 
them  as  it  pleased  in  its  own  dungeons,  was  well  known.  Every- 
one knew  what  was  to  be  expected,  whether  from  its  justice  or 
its  mercy.  Alas  for  the  man  who  became  acquainted  with  either 
the  one  or  the  other !  We  need  not  be  surprised,  then,  that  of 
the  thirty-eight  accused  persons,  only  one,  John  Fina,  of  La 
Torre,  surrendered  himself  into  the  hands  of  the  senate  at 
Turin  ;*  the  rest  declined  doing  so.  They  were  condemned  for 
contumacy,  some  to  the  galleys,  others  to  death.  The  property 
of  all  was  confiscated,  and  a  price  was  set  upon  their  heads.  It 
was  forbidden  to  grant  them  an  asylum  :  an  order  was  given  to 
hunt  them  down  at  the  sound  of  a  bell,  whenever  the  presence 
of  any  one  of  them  was  made  known.  This  sentence  served  as 
a  pretext  for  the  soldiers  at  the  fortress  of  La  Torre  to  enter  any 
private  dwelling  by  force,  and  to  commit  a  thousand  exactions. 

From  this  time,  the  valleys  were  filled  with  trouble  and  dis- 
tress. 

Hitherto  the  Yaudois  had  enjoyed  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion,  and,  satisfied  with  that,  they  were  resigned  to  the  evils 
we  have  mentioned,  sufficiently  happy  to  be  able  to  worship 
God  according  to  their  consciences.  But  their  hearts  were 
harassed  with  apprehensions,  when,  in  1657,  through  the  whole 
extent  of  the  church  and  the  commune  of  San  Giovanni,  all 
public  exercise  of  religion  was  forbidden ;  not  only  the  sermons 
which  were  interdicted  by  the  charter  of  Pinerolo,  but  cate- 
chisms, prayers,  and  even  schools. 

The  Vaudois  Church,  whose  very  existence  was  put  in  jeo- 
pardy by  this  attempt  on  its  liberties,  held  a  synod  to  deliberate 
on  the  measures  its  present  situation  called  for.  The  assembly 
held  in  March,  1658,  at  Pinache,  decided  on  addressing  a  peti- 
tion to  his  royal  highness,  and  on  writing  to  his  ministers,  hum- 
bly to  request  the  revocation  of  the  severe  orders  proscribing  all 
religious  services  in  San  Giovanni.  It  seemed  also  desirable  to 
engage  the  good  offices  of  M.  Servient,  the  French  ambassador, 
as  mediator  of  the  charter  of  Pinerolo,  and  those  of  the  evan- 
gelical cantons  who  had  taken  so  much  interest  in  it.  It  was, 
moreover,  decided  that  the  pastor  of  San  Giovanni  ought  to  con- 
tinue the  performance  of  the  usual  religious  services  there,  since 

*  He  remained  one  year  in  prison,  after  which  he  was  released,  without 
having  been  confronted  with  his  accuser. 


278  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

their  cessation  might  be  detrimental  to  their  liberties.  Lastly, 
knowing  that  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  could  alone  bless 
their  design,  and  ensure  success  to  their  measures,  the  assembly- 
ordained  a  solemn  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  during  which  no 
one,  the  infirm  excepted,  should  leave  the  temples  from  sunrise 
to  sunset. 

We  shall  not  enter  into  the  details  of  the  petitions  addressed 
to  their  sovereign,  nor  of  the  memorials  forwarded  to  his  minis- 
ters. The  cause  of  the  Church  of  San  Giovanni  was  defended 
on  the  ground  of  right,  according  to  the  principles  laid  down  in 
the  ducal  grants  and  charters.  All  that  could  be  advanced  in 
favour  of  the  menaced  church  was  said ;  but  in  vain.  The 
resolution,  it  appeared,  had  been  taken  beforehand,  to  seize 
again,  by  these  means,  an  occasion  for  troubling  the  valley?. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  probably  some  hesitation  in  high  places, 
respecting  the  opportuneness  of  the  occasion,  and  the  ulterior 
manner  of  proceeding  with  the  recusants.  Perhaps,  also,  and 
we  are  very  ready  to  believe  it,  the  recollection  of  the  recent 
intercession  of  the  Protestant  states  fettered  the  impatient 
movements  of  the  council  for  the  propagation  of  the  Roman 
faith.  We  are  led  to  think  so  from  the  part  which  the  embassy 
of  the  evangelical  cantons,  on  returning  to  their  native  country, 
continued  to  take  in  the  affairs  of  the  Vaudois.  They  wrote, 
for  this  purpose,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1657,  to  Servient, 
the  ambassador  of  France  at  Turin,  the  mediator  of  the  charter  at 
Pinerolo,  and  to  the  two  principal  agents  of  the  duke  in  this  affair, 
to  commend  the  unfortunate  Vaudois  to  their  justice  and  equity. 

To  put  down  the  resistance  of  these  poor  people,  they  sought 
at  first  to  gain  Leger.  A  count  of  Saluzzo  repaired  to  the  val- 
leys, and  requested  a  conference  with  him ;  which  Leger  would 
not  grant,  except  in  the  presence  of  the  deputies  of  his  own 
church  and  of  the  other  churches.  This  attempt,  being  rendered 
abortive  by .  the  firmness  of  the  pastor,  was  soon  followed  by 
threatening  citations,  requiring  the  said  Leger  to  render  an  ac- 
count of  his  conduct  at  Turin.  The  third  citation  specified  his 
crime.  He  was  accused  of  having  assumed  the  functions  of  a 
pastor,  of  having  taught  certain  doctrines,  and  kept  a  school  at 
San  Giovanni,  in  the  house  of  the  commune.  Six  of  the  prin- 
cipal persons  among  his  parishioners  were  cited  with  him. 
Their  crime  consisted  in  having  been  present  at  religious  ser- 


LEGER  CONDEMNED  TO  DEATH.  279 

vices  conducted  by  their  pastor.  This  took  place  in  May,  1658. 
Their  knowledge  of  the  manner  in  winch  the  authorities  were 
accustomed  to  proceed  in  similar  cases,  as  well  as  the  unlimited 
confidence  placed  in  judges,  who  were  almost  all  members  of  the 
council  for  the  extirpation  of  heresy,  deterred  every  one  of  the 
accused  from  going  to  Turin.  None  of  their  friends  advised 
them  to  do  so.  The  churches  wrote  in  their  favour  to  the  count 
and  to  the  judges.  They  addressed  several  letters  to  his  high- 
ness himself.  A  milder  sentence  might  have  been  expected. 
But,  after  about  three  years  of  waiting,  applications,  and  depu- 
tations, a  sentence  of  death  was  pronounced  against  Leger,  and 
ten  years'  confinement  in  the  galleys  for  the  other  accused  parties. 
The  property  of  all  was  to  be  confiscated.  With  this  sentence 
hanging  over  him,  Leger,  by  concealing  himself,  and  continually 
changing  his  place  of  refuge,  succeeded  in  remaining  for  some 
months  longer  in  his  native  country,  till  towards  the  end  of  1 661 , 
when  the  valleys  deputed  him  to  interest  the  evangelical  cantons 
and  the  Protestant  states  in  their  cause.  He  was  instructed  to 
request  them  to  employ  their  intercession  with  the  duke,  and 
their  good  offices  with  the  king  of  France,  in  his  capacity  of 
mediator  of  the  charter  of  Pinerolo,  to  obtain  the  consent  of 
Charles  Emanuel  to  examine  for  himself  the  complaints  of  his 
Vaudois  subjects,  and  to  judge  respecting  them,  without  leaving 
them  at  the  discretion  of  the  council  for  the  extirpation  of  heretics. 

Hardly  was  Leger's  departure  to  the  cantons  and  evangelical 
states  known,  than  a  sentence  of  death  still  more  cruel  was  pro- 
nounced upon  him.*  He  was  hung  in  effigy ;  his  houses  were 
razed  to  the  ground ;  and  his  property,  which  was  considerable, 
was  confiscated.  The  house  of  the  valiant  Janavel,  who  was  at 
that  time  a  fugitive,  was  in  like  manner  demolished. 

The  ducal  government  resisted  all  attempts  at  an  accommo- 
dation ;  and,  however  conciliatory  were  the  letters  of  the  Pro- 
testant princes,!  which  Colonel  Holzhalb,  of  Zurich,  the  envoy 

*  He  was  to  be  strangled ;  then  his  body  was  to  be  hung  by  one  foot  on  a 
gibbet  for  four-and-twenty  hours  ;  and,  lastly,  his  head  was  to  be  cut  off  and  pub- 
licly exposed  at  San  Giovanni.  His  name  was  to  be  inserted  in  the  list  of  noted 
outlaws :  his  houses  were  to  bo  burned,  etc. — Leger,  pt.  ii,  p.  275. 

t  The  principal  letters  were  from  the  elector  palatine,  the  elector  of  Bran- 
denburgh,  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  the  states-general  of  Holland.  Leger  not 
having  been  able  to  visit  England,  the  kin?  of  Great  Britain  had  not  interposed. 
—Leger,  pt.  ii,  pp.  277-282. 


280  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

of  the  evangelical  cantons,  presented  to  his  royal  highness  with 
those  of  his  superiors,  in  July,  1662,  they  produced  no  effect. 
Charles  Emmanuel  replied  that  he  had  exactly  fulfilled  towards 
his  Vaudois  subjects  all  their  charters ;  and  representing  them 
as  being  charged  with  crimes,  declared  them  to  be  undeserving 
of  intercession.  It  would  seem  that  the  duke  of  Savoy,  sur- 
rounded by  the  members  of  the  council  for  the  extirpation  of 
heresy,  believed  that  he  was  acting  in  full  accordance  with  his 
rights,  and  imagined  that  his  subjects  in  the  valleys  were  rebels, 
because  they  would  not  consent  to  the  loss  of  some  of  their  prin- 
cipal religious  liberties. 

Moreover,  at  the  moment  when  Charles  Emmanuel  made  this 
answer  to  the  envoy  of  the  evangelical  cantons,  his  minister 
Pianezza,  whose  influence  over  him  was  unbounded,  had  just 
obtained,  by  his  intrigues,  a  success  which  authorized  him  to 
persist  in  his  policy,  and  to  relinquish  nothing  of  his  pretensions. 
By  the  intervention  of  the  popish  advocate,  Bastie,  of  San 
Giovanni,  in  whom  the  Vaudois  of  that  commune  had  some  con- 
fidence, he  had  made  them  believe  that  by  consenting  to  an  act 
of  submission  they  would  obtain  the  religious  liberty  they  wished 
for.  These  simple-minded  men,  easily  imposed  upon,  had  at 
last,  although  with  reluctance,  written  and  signed  two  documents, 
namely,  a  promise  that  they  would  not  catechise  or  perform 
other  religious  exercises  in  the  commune  of  San  Giovanni ;  and, 
in  the  second  place,  a  petition  in  which  they  requested  that  they 
might  continue  these  practices  as  heretofore.  At  the  same  time, 
they  sought  for  some  commercial  and  other  privileges.  Bastie 
had  solemnly  engaged  not  to  give  up  their  promise  till  the  de- 
cree sought  for  in  their  petition  had  been  granted  and  placed  in 
their  hands.  But  the  contrary  of  what  was  pledged  to  them 
actually  took  place.  Pianezza  returned  the  promise,  and  con- 
temptuously rejected  the  request,  when  he  had  read  the  second 
article  which  spoke  of  religion.  Upon  this,  the  Yaudois  were 
advised  to  present  another  petition,  in  which  no  mention  should 
be  made  of  their  religion ;  and  they  were  at  the  same  time  pro- 
mised that  then  all  they  wished  for  would  be  granted,  and  that 
they  would  be  left  undisturbed.  But,  ashamed  and  mortified  at 
having  been  deceived  on  this  point,  they  refused  to  make  any 
further  concessions.  They  had  already  placed  themselves  in  a 
wretchedly  false  position  by  the  imprudent  promise  deposited  in 


THE  BANDIT  PAOL  DE  BERGES.  281 

the  hands  of  the  prime  minister.  They  were  not  disposed  to  put 
the  finishing  stroke  to  the  catastrophe  by  fresh  imprudences, 
which  their  crafty  enemies  knew  well  how  to  turn  against  them. 

If  the  Vaudois  affairs  made  little  progress  at  court,  if  the 
efforts  of  their  friends  there  were  fruitless,  their  situation  was 
not  more  improved  in  the  valleys.  On  the  contrary,  it  became 
continually  more  involved,  in  consequence  of  the  violent  mea- 
sures of  the  governor  of  the  fort  of  La  Torre,  and  by  the  re- 
prisals in  which  the  exiles  indulged. 

The  commandant  De  Coudre"  was  succeeded  by  an  officer 
named  De  Bagnols,  who  had  signalized  himself  by  his  cruel  zeal 
in  the  massacres  of  1655.  The  friendship  of  the  marquis  of 
Pianezza,  his  godfather,  and  his  near  relationship  to  the  Count 
Ressan,  well  known  for  his  hatred  to  the  Vaudois,  and  by  his 
success  against  them  in  the  valley  of  Barcellonette,  had  procured 
his  nomination  to  this  post,  for  which  he  was  so  well  suited.  He 
had  scarcely  arrived  when  he  imprisoned  a  great  number  of  un- 
fortunate persons,  and  treated  them  with  harshness.  He  also 
commissioned  an  officer  of  justice  to  force  alleged  confessions 
from  them,  and  to  oblige  them  by  some  means  or  other  to  sign 
them,  under  the  promise  of  bettering  their  position,  but  in  reality 
to  establish  their  criminality  by  reciprocal  accusations.  De 
Bagnols,  moreover,  relaxed  the  discipline  of  the  soldiers,  who 
indulged  with  impunity  in  outrages  of  every  kind.  He  did 
more ;  he  established  at  Lucerna  a  noted  bandit,  Paol  (Paolo, 
or  Paul)  de  Berges,  who  had  been  condemned  for  murder,  but 
pardoned  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  his  highness.  This 
man  of  blood,  having  gathered  round  him  about  three  hundred 
villains,  plundered  the  valleys  in  concert  with  the  troops  in  the 
fortress.  Such  was  the  terror  inspired  by  Paol  de  Berges  and 
De  Bagnols,  that  in  that  year,  1662,  the  inhabitants  of  San 
Giovanni,  La  Torre,  Rora,  and  Les  Vignes  of  Lucerna,  being 
panic-stricken,  took  to  flight  the  instant  they  had  finished  the  har- 
vest. No  one  felt  secure  in  any  part  of  the  lower  valley.  Whole 
families  retired  daily  to  the  high  mountains,  into  the  woods,  or 
to  the  French  territory  in  Pragela,  or  to  Queiras.  On  their  de- 
parture, the  garrison  carried  off  the  wine  and  oil,  and  the  best 
of  whatever  was  left  by  the  fugitives ;  the  neighbouring  papists 
took  the  remainder.  Then,  as  if,  by  withdrawing,  the  unhappy 
victims  of  oppression  had  committed  a  crime,  De  Bagnols  issued 


282  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

orders  in  the  name  of  his  highness,  May  19,  1663,  that  all  such 
persons  should  return,  under  severe  penalties  in  case  of  dis- 
obedience, within  three  days,  and  surrender  themselves  at  the 
fortress,  without  any  exception  of  age,  sex,  or  condition.  The 
knowledge  of  the  sufferings  that  so  many  victims  would  endure, 
crowded  in  the  fort  of  La  Torre,  prevented  the  majority  from 
thinking  of  going  thither ;  but  some  individuals  ventured  to  re- 
turn to  their  homes,  for  the  sake  of  being  allowed  again  to  culti- 
vate their  lands.  But  how  bitterly  they  repented  !  They  were 
immediately  surrounded.  *Etienne  Gay  was  beheaded;  his 
brother  was  wounded  and  dragged  into  the  fortress  with  some 
women  and  girls,  who  there  suffered  unspeakable  torments. 
And  rather  later,  when  a  similar  order  had  been  published  on 
the  25th  of  June,  in  the  same  year,  and  some  credulous  house- 
holders had  returned  to  their  own  friends,  they  were  perfidiously 
surrounded  and  menaced  with  death,  not  only  by  the  troops  of 
the  governor,  but  also  by  an  army  assembled  for  their  destruc- 
tion. 

The  vigour  previously  displayed  against  a  great  number  of 
the  Vaudois  condemned  for  contumacy,  and  latterly  against  the 
persons  dwelling  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fortress,  had  forced  the 
former  to  take  arms  for  the  protection  of  their  lives,  which  were 
in  constant  jeopardy,  and  the  second  to  join  themselves  in  great 
numbers  to  the  exiles,  whose  courage  excited  their  own.  Joshua 
Janavel,  the  hero  of  Rora,  who  had  been  condemned  to  be  quar- 
tered, and  then  to  have  his  head  exposed  on  an  eminence,  saw 
gathered  round  him  exiles  and  fugitives  whom  his  great  courage, 
intrepidity,  prudence,  and  consummate  experience  had  filled  with 
confidence.  Amounting  now  to  two  or  three  hundred,  they  pre- 
sented, either  in  small  detachments,  or  in  one  body,  an  armed 
resistance,  which  was  formidable  to  the  troops  of  De  Bagnols  and 
Paol  de  Berges ;  sometimes,  even,  throwing  themselves  suddenly 
on  their  enemies,  they  met  with  signal  success.  They  were  also 
seen,  it  is  true,  attacking  the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  Bricherasco? 
at  Bibbiana,  for  example,  and  even  pillaging  the  churches  of 
their  adversaries ;  so  that  frequently  the  reproach  was  cast  upon 
the  exiles  of  leading  the  lives  of  banditti.  But  we  must  not  for- 
get, in  judging  of  their  conduct,  that  they  were  quite  homeless, 
and  that  the  feeling  of  the  injustice  with  which  they  were  treated, 
as  well  as  the  prospect  of  the  ruin  to  which  their  valleys  were 


LOYALTY  OF  THE   VAUDOIS.  283 

devoted,  did  not  always  allow  of  their  practising  the  moderation 
that  was  desirable. 

While  the  commandant  of  the  fortress  of  La  Torre  ordered 
the  fugitive  families  to  return  to  their  homes,  Janavel  exerted 
his  influence  to  prevent  their  doing  so :  but  before  the  25th  of 
June,  which  was  the  fatal  term,  arrived,  and  the  number  of  those 
who  had  returned  could  be  ascertained,  an  army  commanded  by 
the  marquises  of  Fleury  and  Angrogna,  appeared  at  the  entrance 
of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  and  surrounded  San  Giovanni.  The 
Vaudois,  till  then  undecided,  could  no  longer  doubt  of  the  in- 
tention to  destroy  them,  and  took  arms,  having  placed  their  fami- 
lies in  security  in  those  distant  places  to  which  they  had  retired 
in  preceding  persecutions. 

Whatever  accusations  have  been  brought  against  the  Vaudois, 
whatever  appearance  of  imprudence  may  have  marked  their  con- 
duct in  the  judgment  of  certain  persons,  yet  their  history  con- 
tains facts  which  demonstrate  their  probity,  and  their  sincere  and 
affectionate  desire  of  always  pleasing  their  prince.  We  shall 
here  give  a  striking  example  of  this.  The  Vaudois  population 
in  arms  closed  against  the  duke's  troops  the  passage  which  led 
to  the  bottom  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  which  rendered  it  im- 
possible to  convey  supplies  to  the  fort  of  Mirebouc,  situated  in 
the  mountains,  towards  the  French  frontier,  and  then  destitute 
of  provisions  and  military  stores.  The  duke's  generals  called  to- 
gether the  principal  persons  of  the  communes,  and  requested 
them  to  give  their  sovereign  a  proof  of  their  submission  and  good 
intentions,  by  escorting  a  convoy  which  was  on  its  way  to  the 
fortress,  assuring  them  that  if  they  consented,  peace  would  soon 
be  re-established.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  so  extraordinary  a 
fact,  but  the  proposal  was  actually  complied  with.  The  devoted 
Vaudois  feared  less  to  risk  their  own  safety,  than  to  appear  to 
distrust  their  prince,  and  to  refuse  to  give  him  a  pledge  of  their 
love.  They  conducted  the  convoy  to  its  destination,  and  the 
fortress  which  closed  against  them  the  passage  to  France  was 
victualled  by  their  own  good  offices.* 

Their  devotedness  was  scarcely  noticed  by  their  enemies,  who 
were  accustomed  to  attach  little  value  to  the  best  words  or  the 
noblest  actions  of  those  whom  they  believed  worthy  of  the  great- 

*  Some  weeks  later  they  consented  to  guard  another  convoy,  though  a  war 
of  extermination  was  then  being  waged  against  them. 


284  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

est  evils  as  heretics ;  for  while  the  Vaudois,  trusting  in  the  pro- 
mise that  had  been  made  to  them,  were  preparing  to  come  down 
again  from  the  mountains  and  bring  back  their  families  to  the 
plain,  De  Fleury  marched  into  the  heart  of  the  valleys,  with  the 
intention  of  attacking  the  heights  of  La  Vachere,  between  An- 
grogna  and  Pramol,  where  their  principal  fortifications  and  their 
best  intrenchments  lay.*  On  the  6th  of  July,  at  day-break,  the 
enemy  ascended  the  mountains  at  four  different  points.  The 
Vaudois  posted  themselves  advantageously,  stopped  the  enemy, 
wearied  them  out,  decimated  their  ranks,  strewed  the  ground 
with  their  corpses,  and,  when  their  courage  failed  and  they  be- 
gan to  retreat,  charged  them  in  their  turn,  and  pursued  them  to 
the  plain,  on  which  they  dared  not  to  venture  in  sight  of  the  re- 
serve of  cavalry  that  was  stationed  there. 

Having  left  a  party  to  keep  watch  on  these  heights,  they  di- 
rected their  course  towards  Plans,  where  De  Fleury  had  intrench- 
ed his  division.  But  the  little  detachment  at  the  gate  of  An- 
grogna  no  sooner  saw  their  brethren  at  their  side,  than  two  of 
their  number,  Boirat  of  Pramol  and  anoth;  \  crawling  on  all-fours, 
and  concealed  by  a  rock,  approached  the  camp,  killed  each  a 
sentinel,  cleared  the  rampart,  slew  four  more  of  the  enemy,  and 
kept  shouting,  "  Forward !  Victory  !"  The  Vaudois,  roused  to 
enthusiasm,  followed  in  their  footsteps  with  unparalleled  ardour. 
The  Piedmontese  army,  surprised  and  disconcerted,  could  not 
form  their  ranks,  and  sought  for  safety  in  a  rapid  flight.  Their 
generals,  the  marquises  of  Fleury  and  Angrogna,  Leger  tells  us, 
"  fearing  the  bite  of  the  dogs,  (the  barbets,)  were  not  the  last  to 
run  away."  The  number  of  men  slain  in  the  rout  was  considerable. 

The  vanquished  army  took  their  revenge  some  days  after. 
They  surprised  and  massacred  a  detachment  of  five-and-twenty 
men  at  Bora.  They  burned  down  between  twenty  and  thirty 
houses  that  formed  the  hamlet  of  Sainte  Marguerite,  in  the  com- 
mune of  La  Torre.  Nevertheless,  these  little  successes  could 
not  make  up  for  the  losses  sustained  at  Roccamaneot,  Plans,  and 
other  places  besides.  The  command  of  the  army  was  taken  from 
the  marquis  de  Fleury,  and  given  to  the  marquis  de  St.  Damian. 
The  army  itself  was  reinforced.  But  while  it  was  repairing  its 
losses  and  recovering  from  its  fatigues,  negotiations  were  entered 
upon  at  Paris  and  Turin  in  favour  of  the  Vaudois. 

*  In  the  war  of  1655,  Pianezza  was  never  able  to  capture  them. 


CONFERENCES.  285 

The  duke  of  Savoy,  chagrined  with  the  turn  the  Vaudois  af- 
fairs had  taken,  so  little  to  the  credit  of  his  policy  or  his  military 
skill,  fearing  also  the  friendly  intervention  of  the  Protestant 
powers,  appeared  desirous  that  the  king  of  France,  whose  feel- 
ings against  the  evangelicals  agreed  with  his  own,  and  .who  al- 
ready, in  1655,  had  been,  by  his  ambassador,  arbitrator  of  the 
treaty  of  Pinerolo,  should  again  offer  his  mediation  in  the  present 
posture  of  affairs.  Servient,  who  had  been  charged  with  the 
former  mediation,  received,  in  consequence,  orders  to  betake 
himself  to  Turin,  and  to  effect  an  accommodation  between  the 
parties.     This  was  about  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1663. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  friends  of  the  Vaudois  were  not 
asleep.  The  evangelical  cantons,  in  agreement  with  the  Pro- 
testant powers,  sent,  on  their  part,  ambassadors  to  Turin,  to  take 
in  hand  the  defence  of  their  brethren  in  the  faith.  The  Swiss 
deputies,  Jean  Gaspard  Hirzel,  a  distinguished  magistrate  of 
Zurich,  and  colonel  de  Weiss,  a  senator  of  Berne,  arrived  in  the 
course  of  November,  1663,  at  Turin,  where,  without  losing  time, 
they  interceded  in  favour  of  the  poor  inhabitants  of  the  valleys, 
and  requested  favourable  conditions  for  them.  The  court  con- 
sented to  their  amicable  intervention  as  friends  and  advocates  of 
the  Vaudois,  but  would  not  accept  them  for  arbitrators.  The 
valleys,  although  rejoiced  at  the  presence  of  such  protectors,  hesi- 
tated about  sending  deputies  to  Turin,  where  the  Inquisition 
might  lay  hold  of  them,  in  spite  of  their  safe-conduct.  Yet  they 
decided  on  not  losing  so  good  an  opportunity  of  negotiating  peace. 

The  delegates  of  the  valleys,  on  their  arrival,  requested  a  sus- 
pension of  hostilities  during  the  whole  period  of  the  negotiation. 
Without  refusing  it,  the  court  made  as  a  condition  of  it,  that  the 
villages  of  Prarustin  and  St.  Barthelemi  should  be  given  up  to 
the  troops ;  a  point  to  which  the  delegates  had  not  power  to  as- 
sent. The  conferences  then  began,  leaving  this  important  ques- 
tion undecided.  This  was  imprudent ;  for  eight  days  had  not 
elapsed,  when  the  news  reached  Turin,  of  a  battle  fought  on  the 
25th  of  December,  along  the  whole  extent  of  the  Vaudois  lines. 
The  Marquis  of  Saint  Damian,  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of 
fresh  troops,  had  attacked  simultaneously  all  the  points  of  ap- 
proach to  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  from  St.  Germain  in  the  vale 
of  Perosa,  to  Tailleret  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna.  More  than 
twelve  thousand  men  had  attacked  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred. 


U86  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

The  Piedmontesc  had  been  repulsed  with  loss  in  all  their  at- 
tempts to  penetrate  the  mountains.  In  spite  of  their  numerical 
superiority,  they  had  always  been  driven  back  upon  one  another ; 
but  they  had  been  completely  successful  in  their  attack  on  the 
villages  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  They  had  made 
themselves  masters  of  St.  Germain  in  the  valley  of  Perosa,  having 
attacked  it  from  the  French  territory, — an  infraction  of  which 
the  Swiss  deputies  complained  afterwards,  in  a  memorial  to 
Louis  XIV. ;  and  had  occupied  Prarustin,  St.  Barthelemi,  and 
Rocheplatte.  This  affair  deprived  the  Vaudois  of  all  their  posi- 
tions in  the  open  country ;  but  it  demonstrated,  like  the  pre- 
vious attempt,  the  impossibility  of  driving  them  out  of  their  fast- 
nesses in  the  mountains. 

On  hearing  of  this  combat,  the  delegates  of  the  valleys  at 
Turin  requested  that  they  might  rejoin  their  families.  The 
Swiss  deputies,  on  their  part,  made  strong  representations  to 
the  ministers  of  his  royal  highness,  who  consented  at  last  to 
sign  a  truce  for  twelve  days  ;  a  truce  which  was  continued  from 
week  to  week  till  the  conclusion  of  the  negotiations,  two  months 
later,  in  February,  1664. 

It  appeared  difficult  to  effect  an  accommodation  between  the 
parties,  the  duke's  ministers  being  disposed  to  regard  the  Vau- 
dois only  as  rebels ;  and  the  Vaudois,  in  their  turn,  feeling 
themselves  in  danger  of  becoming  victims,  and  requiring  the 
strongest  guarantees  to  give  them  confidence. 

At  last,  by  the  persevering  efforts  of  the  Swiss  ambassadors, 
some  points  were  settled  which  seemed  as  the  basis  of  the  edict 
of  pacification  or  charter,  which  Charles  Emmanuel  granted  his 
Vaudois  subjects  on  February  14th,  1664.  In  its  form  and 
terms,  this  act  was  an  amnesty.  The  sovereign  consented  to 
pardon.  Yet,  for  the  sake  of  his  reputation,  and  to  maintain  his 
authority,  he  required  a  satisfaction  and  a  guarantee  of  obedi- 
ence on  the  part  of  the  Vaudois.  But  out  of  respect  for  the 
princes  and  republics  that  had  interceded  for  them,  and  par- 
ticularly on  account  of  the  mediation  of  the  king  of  France,  his 
royal  highness  consented  to  submit  the  decision  of  these  two 
points  to  his  most  Christian  majesty,  Louis  XIV. 

By  this  new  act,  all  the  Vaudois,  excepting  a  list  of  persons 
formerly  condemned,  thirty-six  or  thirty-seven,  were  pardoned, 
and  admitted  to  the  benefit  of  the  charter  of  Pinerolo  in  1655. 


ARBITRATION  OF  LOUIS  XIV.  287 

For  greater  clearness,  the  third  article  of  the  aforesaid  charter, 
relative  to  San  Giovanni,  which  had  been  interpreted  so  differ- 
ently by  the  two  parties,  was  explained  in  this  sense : — "  Every 
religious  service,  sermon,  catechism,  prayers,  school,  excepting 
family  worship,  is  forbidden  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the 
commune :  no  pastor  can  be  admitted  to  reside  in  it,  though 
families  may  receive  his  visits  twice  a  year,  and  the  sick  accord- 
ing to  their  need.  In  case  of  necessity,  in  one  of  these  visits  the 
pastor  may  sleep  a  night  in  the  commune.  The  school,  if  the 
parents  do  not  prefer  sending  their  children  to  that  which  the 
duke  intends  to  establish,  must  be  removed  to  Chabas,  in  An- 
grogna."  An  article  of  the  charter  imposed  the  obligation  of 
obtaining  the  prince's  consent  for  every  foreign  pastor  who 
might  be  called  to  the  valleys,  and  who,  besides,  would  be 
obliged  to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity.  As  for  the  rest,  these  restric- 
tions excepted,  liberty  of  worship  was  ensured  by  the  charter  of 
Turin,  as  by  the  former  one,  to  the  ancient  churches  of  the 
valleys. 

It  will  be  obvious,  that  though  apparently  the  new  edict 
placed  the  Vaudois  in  the  same  situation  as  that  secured  by  the 
charter  of  Pinerolo,  which  was  inferior  to  the  preceding,  they 
had,  in  fact,  lost  many  of  their  privileges.  The  evangelical  pub- 
lic worship  had  been  entirely  and  expressly  taken  away  from 
the  Church  of  San  Giovanni,  as  well  as  its  school.  The  admis- 
sion of  the  necessary  pastors  had  been  limited.  Still,  if  by  these 
new  and  disadvantageous  conditions,  the  affairs  of  the  valleys 
had  been  definitively  arranged,  something  would  have  been 
gained ;  but  we  must  not  forget  that  the  charter  of  Turin  placed 
it  in  the  power  of  the  king  of  France  to  determine  what  satis- 
faction and  what  guarantee  of  obedience  the  Vaudois  ought  to 
give  their  sovereign. 

When  the  evangelical  Swiss  cantons  had  been  informed  of  the 
demands  of  the  court  of  Turin,  and  were  apprized  that  all  the 
documents  relative  to  this  affair  were  to  be  submitted  to  Louis 
XIV.  himself,  they  wrote  to  this  monarch  in  favour  of  their 
clients,  and  sent  to  the  king  of  England  and  the  states-general 
of  Holland  an  account  of  what  had  transpired,  which  led  to 
similar  movements  to  their  own  on  the  part  of  these  states. 
Such  zeal  and  intervention  from  such  high  (mailers  exerted,  no 
doubt,  a  happy  influence  on  the  arbitration  of  a  monarch  who 


288  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

was  otherwise  so  little  disposed  to  favour  oppressed  Protestants. 
In  his  perplexity  respecting  the  duke,  a  long  time  elapsed  before 
he  arrived  at  a  decision,  which,  after  about  three  years,  he  gave 
on  January  18,  1667.  Moreover,  although  he  proceeded  on  the 
admission  of  the  culpability  of  the  Vaudois,  by  condemning 
them  to  make  a  pecuniary  satisfaction  to  their  sovereign,  and 
guarantees  of  obedience  for  the  future,  yet,  in  fixing  the  indem- 
nity and  the  proofs  of  submission,  he  made  such  abatements  from 
the  demands  of  the  duke's  government,  that  in  fact  the  rights  of 
the  Vaudois  rather  gained  by  it  than  received  an  injury.  In- 
stead of  two  million  francs  or  more,  at  which  the  satisfaction 
had  been  estimated,  Louis  XIV.  fixed  it  at  fifty  thousand  Pied- 
montese  livres,  payable  in  ten  years.  As  for  the  guarantees  of 
obedience,  the  Vaudois  were  required  to  give  an  act  of  submis- 
sion, duly  attested  and  confirmed  by  an  oath ;  they  were  also  to 
consent  to  the  presence  of  a  ducal  commissioner  in  their  synods, 
and  to  some  other  particulars. 

As  for  the  rest,  Charles  Emmanuel  did  not  abuse  his  victory. 
Far  from  that,  this  prince,  more  enlightened,  it  would  seem,  as 
to  the  real  interests  of  his  government,  and  more  free,  since  the 
death  of  his  mother  Christina,  to  follow  the  generous  movements 
of  his  own  heart,  rendered  justice  to  his  Vaudois  subjects.  He 
recollected  the  zeal  they  had  displayed  for  his  cause  in  1638, 
1639,  and  1640,  when  a  great  part  of  his  subjects  had  taken 
sides  with  his  uncles  against  him.  Finally,  the  war  which  he 
had  to  carry  on,  in  1672,  against  the  Genoese,  and  in  which  the 
Vaudois,  flocking  to  his  standard  at  the  first  appeal,  served  him 
with  extraordinary  devotedness  and  the  greatest  courage,  com- 
pletely brought  back  his  heart  to  his  faithful  subjects.  Satisfied 
with  their  conduct,  he  assured  them  of  his  entire  approbation,  in 
a  letter  full  of  kindness, — a  restorative  balm  for  the  deep  wounds 
that  fanaticism  and  the  malice  of  his  servants  had  inflicted.  The 
Vaudois,  happy  to  possess  a  place  in  the  affections  of  their  sove- 
reign, hoped  to  live  a  long  time  in  peace  under  his  paternal 
sceptre  ;  but  he  died  on  the  third  of  June,  1678.* 

The  Vaudois  continued  to  enjoy  some  years  of  peace,  under 

*  He  was  only  forty-one  years  old.  On  his  death-bed,  with  a  sentiment  of 
affecting  humility,  he  gave  orders  to  admit  all  persons  indiscriminately  into  his 
chamber,  in  order,  said  he,  that  people  may  know  that  princes  die  like  other 
men. 


ABOLITION  OE  EVANGELICAL  WORSHIP.  289 

the  regency  of  the  duchess,  the  widow  of  Charles  Emmanuel, 
and  under  the  government  of  their  son,  Victor  Amadeus  II.  It 
was  at  this  time  that  they  gave  a  fresh  proof  of  devotedness  to 
their  prince  in  marching  against  the  banditti  of  Mondovi,  and 
assisting  in  bringing  them  to  submission ;  but  at  the  very  time 
when  they  might  reasonably  have  indulged  the  delightful  ex- 
pectation of  a  durable  peace,  they  saw  themselves  all  at  once 
menaced  with  the  greatest  misfortunes,  and  dragged  into  ruin. 
Barbarous  orders  spread  terror  through  the  valleys.  Very  soon 
they  had  no  choice  between  apostasy  and  death  under  a  thou- 
sand forms,  or  exile. 

Let  us  describe  these  melancholy  scenes,  and  their  origin : 

A  monarch  to  whom  the  world  has  given  the  name  of  Great, 
Louis  XIV.,  who  reigned  over  the  country  on  the  western  side 
of  the  Piedmontese  Alps,  the  powerful  kingdom  of  France,  at- 
tempted to  atone  for  the  vices  of  his  dissolute  life  by  the  forced 
conversion  of  the  Protestants  in  his  kingdom  to  popery.  Such 
an  undertaking  could  not  fail  to  assure  him  of  plenary  indulgence 
from  the  sworn  foe  of  evangelical  Christians,  namely,  the  pope 
of  Rome ;  and  while  he  deprived  his  subjects  belonging  to  the 
reformed  religion  of  all  their  civil  rights,  and  revoked  the  edict 
of  Nantes  by  which  they  were  guaranteed,  while  by  these  cruel 
measures  he  drove  to  apostasy,  or  forced  into  exile,  the  worthiest 
part  of  the  French  nation,  he  urged  his  neighbour,  the  young 
duke  of  Savoy,  to  abolish  also  the  Vaudois  Church. 

Victor  Amadeus,  though  young,  had  sufficient  penetration  to 
shrink  from  coming  to  such  extremities  with  subjects  who  were 
serving  him  faithfully.  He  generously  and  in  a  Christian  spirit 
resisted  this  pernicious  temptation,  until  M.  de  Rebenac  Feu- 
quieres,  the  French  ambassador,  having  told  him  one  day  that 
the  king  his  master  would  find  the  means  of  driving  away  these 
heretics  with  fourteen  thousand  men,  but  that  he  would  keep 
the  valleys  they  inhabited  for  himself,  he  was  obliged,  by  this 
kind  of  menace,  to  take  other  measures ;  and  judging  that  it 
concerned  his  own  honour  and  interest  to  prevent  a  foreign 
power  from  giving  laws  to  his  own  subjects,  he  preferred  perse- 
cuting them  himself.  A  treaty  was  concluded  on  this  footing. 
Louis  XIV.  promised  an  armed  force  to  reduce  them. 

The  valleys  had  a  presentiment  of  their  fate,  when,  a  few  days 
after  the  news  of  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  (October 

13 


290  HISTUKl'  OF  THE  VAUDOlb. 

22, 1685,)  they  heard  on  November  4th  a  proclamation  prohibit- 
ing every  stranger  from  staying  there  more  than  three  days  with- 
out the  governor's  permission,  and  every  inhabitant  from  lodging 
them  under  pain  of  severe  chastisement.  But  what  was  their 
alarm  when  all  at  once,  from  one  end  of  the  valleys  to  the  other, 
the  alarming  words  of  the  edict  of  January  31,  1 686,  resounded, 
ordaining  the  complete  cessation  of  every  religious  service  ex- 
cept the  Romish,  under  pain  of  death  and  the  confiscation  of 
property ;  the  demolition  of  the  temples  of  the  so-called  reformed 
religion ;  the  banishment  of  the  ministers  and  schoolmasters,  and 
in  future  the  baptism  of  all  the  children  by  the  popish  priests, 
who  were  to  educate  them  in  the  Romish  religion.  This  edict 
annulled  all  the  liberties  acknowledged  and  confirmed  by  the 
house  of  Savoy  from  age  to  age.  and  from  reign  to  reign,  since 
the  valleys  had  come  under  their  sway,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  thirteenth  century.  All  hearts  were  oppressed  by  unspeaka- 
ble terror.  No  traditions  or  recollections  could  produce  an  edict 
equally  iniquitous.  The  valleys  had  never  been  menaced  with 
so  great  a  danger ;  never,  at  least,  with  one  so  imminent.  If  they 
were  unable  to  alter  the  duke's  determination  by  their  entreaties, 
nothing  remained  but  to  take  arms  and  defend  themselves  even 
to  death ;  for  the  Yaudois,  descendants  of  the  martyrs,  would  not 
think  of  apostatizing.  But  it  was  in  vain  that  they  supplicated 
their  prince :  their  natural  protector,  ordained  by  God  to  defend 
the  oppressed,  to  administer  justice,  remained  deaf  to  their  cries. 
Some  delay  in  the  execution  was  all  they  could  obtain.  Despair- 
ing of  bending  the  duke,  seeing  the  French  and  Piedmontesc 
troops  concentrating  themselves  on  the  confines  of  their  valleys ; 
and,  lastly,  hearing  the  insulting  menaces  of  the  papists  in  the 
vicinity,  they  took  some  defensive  precautions,  and  prepared  for 
resisting  in  case  of  an  attack. 

Meanwhile  the  news  of  the  almost  incredible  edict  of  the  31st 
of  January,  excited  in  all  the  Protestant  countries  indignation 
and  pity.  The  German  princes,  Holland,  and  England,  wrote 
to  the  duke.  The  evangelical  cantons  of  Switzerland,  whose 
friendship  and  protection  had  already  proved  so  useful  to  the  Vau- 
dois,  did  not  act  inconsistently  with  their  previous  conduct.  Hav- 
ing addressed  a  letter  to  the  duke,  which  remained  unanswered, 
they  decided,  in  an  assembly  held  at  Baden,  in  February,  1686, 
on  sending  an  ambassador  to  Turin,  to  take  in  hand  the  defence 


PROJECT  OF  EMIGRATION.  291 

of  their  brethren  in  the  faith.  The  counsellors  of  state,  Gaspard 
de  Muralt  of  Zurich,  and  Bernard  de  Muralt  of  Berne,  chosen 
for  this  mission,  arrived  at  their  destination  at  the  beginning  of 
March.  They  assigned  as  a  reason  for  their  intervention,  not 
only  the  agreement  of  their  faith  with  that  of  the  Vaudois,  but 
the  interest  they  took  in  what  concerned  the  charters  of  1655 
and  1664,  which  were  in  part  the  fruit  of  their  mediation,  but 
which  the  edict  of  January  31st  annulled.  In  the  memorial  they 
presented,  they  urged,  in  favour  of  their  oppressed  brethren,  the 
pressing  motives  of  tolerance.  Especially  they  founded  a  cogent 
argument  on  the  historical  view  of  the  question.  They  repre- 
sented that  the  churches  of  the  valley  of  Piedmont  had  never 
separated  from  the  religion  of  their  prince,  since  they  had  lived 
in  that  which  they  had  received  from  their  fathers  more  than 
eight  centuries  ago,  and  which  they  professed  before  passing  under 
the  domination  of  Savoy ;  that  the  ancestors  of  his  royal  highness, 
having  found  them  in  the  possession  of  their  religion,  had  main- 
tained it  by  various  concessions.  The  ambassadors  finally  ap- 
pealed to  the  engagements  which  the  predecessors  of  his  high- 
ness had  made  in  the  face  of  Europe,  when  they  had  been  soli- 
cited by  kings,  princes,  and  republics  to  confirm  to  the  Vaudois 
their  religious  privileges.  The  memorial  also  showed  that  the 
Vaudois  had  never  given  any  subject  of  complaint  which  could 
justify  such  a  decree.* 

The  reply  made  by  the  marquis  de  St.  Thomas,  in  the  name 
of  his  sovereign,  to  the  memorial,  contained  a  humiliating  con- 
fession. This  minister  of  foreign  affairs  declared  that  his  master 
was  not  at  liberty  to  retract  or  modify  his  decree ;  that  there  were 
engagements  which  he  could  not  break ;  that  the  neighbourhood 
of  a  powerful  monarch,  who  was  jealous  of  the  deference  paid  to 
him,  imposed  on  the  duke  the  line  of  conduct  he  followed.  The 
letters  of  the  Protestant  princes  were  not  able  to  turn  Victor 
Amadeus  from  the  projected  persecution^ 

The  Swiss  ambassadors  had  received  orders  from  their  lords, 
if  they  could  not  procure  the  withdrawment  of  the  decree,  or  its 
being  considerably  modified,  then  to  try  to  obtain  leave  for  the 

*  The  historian  Botta,  who  is  not  very  favourable  to  the  Vaudois,  says  that 
not  only  were  they  innocent  this  time,  but  they  had  even  deserved  well  of  the 
government.    Storia  d'ltalia,  v,  vi,  p.  340. 

t  See  the  History  of  the  Negotiation. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Vaudois  to  emigrate  to  foreign  countries.  The  court  of  Turin, 
being  sounded  on  the  subject,  seemed  not  to  oppose  it,  and  con- 
sented that  the  deputies  should  make  the  proposal  to  the  valleys. 

The  assembly  of  the  delegates  of  the  communes*  heard,  with 
great  pain,  the  report  made  to  them  by  the  ambassadors  of  the 
desperate  condition  of  their  affairs,  and  the  wholly  novel  propo- 
sal of  emigrating  in  a  body.  The  Vaudois  had  believed  that  the 
reformed  powers  of  Europe  would  obtain  the  guarantee  of  their 
liberties ;  and  instead  of  this  efficacious  succour,  there  seemed 
no  hope  of  deliverance  but  in  abandoning  their  native  soil.  What 
resolution  could  they  adopt  ?  What  part  could  they  choose  ?  They 
consulted  their  good  friends  the  ambassadors.  By  them  they 
were  advised,  though  with  pain,  to  emigrate,  from  a  conviction 
that  in  the  presence  of  the  united  forces  of  Savoy  and  France, 
the  Yaudois  had  no  chance  of  escaping  dreadful  and  final  ruin. 

WTiile  the  ambassadors  returned  to  Turin,  and  conferred  with 
the  duke's  ministers,  the  Vandois  communes  assembled  at  Angro- 
gna  on  March  18,  (28th,)  1 686,  and  deliberated.  If  the  considera- 
tion of  an  unequal  and  bloody  war  influenced  them  to  emigrate ; 
on  the  other  hand,  they  could  not  think  without  despair  of  quit- 
ting the  country  of  their  fathers,  the  soil  of  their  infancy,  the 
land  of  martyrs.  The  love  of  their  native  country,  joined  with 
religious  recollections,  the  glorious  and  venerable  traditions  of 
the  Yaudois  Church,  bound  them  to  their  rocks.  Uncertain,  and 
divided  in  opinion,  they  at  last  decided  on  communicating  their 
perplexities  in  writing  to  the  ambassadors,  and  committing  them- 
selves to  the  direction  of  their  prudence. 

After  considering  this  letter,  the  ambassadors  requested  that 
the  Yaudois  might  have  permission  to  leave  the  domains  of  his 
royal  highness,  and  to  dispose  of  their  property.  But  without 
any  fresh  reason,  by  a  sudden  change  of  policy,  the  duke  refused 
to  treat  with  the  embassy,  and  required  the  Yaudois  to  come 
themselves  with  an  act  of  submission,  and  request  leave  to  emi- 
grate. Evidently  the  court,  being  chagrined  at  the  turn  the 
affair  had  taken,  wished  not  to  be  fettered,  as  would  have  been 
the  case  in  treating  with  the  Swiss,  but  to  retain  the  power  of 
imposing  on  their  suppliant  subjects  conditions  they  would  not 

*  We  are  not  informed  where  this  assembly  was  held,  but  the  correspondence 
of  the  Vaudois,  always  dated  from  Angrogna,  sufficiently  indicates  that  the  dif- 
ferent assemblies  were  held  in  that  place. 


A  NEW  EDICT  AGAINST  THE  VAUDOIS.  29£ 

have  dared  to  offer  to  their  advocates.  Although  the  ambassadors 
might  have  considered  themselves  as  insulted  by  the  refusal  of 
the  court  to  treat  with  them  respecting  the  emigration,  their  pru- 
dence did  not  abandon  them ;  their  benevolence  sustained  them. 
They  obtained,  at  all  events,  from  the  ministers  of  his  highness, 
permission  to  regulate  the  terms  and  clauses  of  the  submission. 
But  when  they  had  proposed  them  to  the  valleys,  the  latter  were 
divided  in  opinion,  and  sent  deputies  to  Turin,  who  were  not  all 
of  the  same  mind.  Five  of  them  were  authorized  to  make  an 
act  of  submission,  as  well  as  to  ask  permission  to  leave  the  coun- 
try, and  to  dispose  of  their  property.  The  sixth,  deputed  from 
Bobbio,  San  Giovanni,  and  Angrogna,  was  to  confine  himself, 
besides  submission,  to  request  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  the 
31st  of  January.  The  ambassadors,  finding  themselves  greatly 
embarrassed  by  this  division  in  the  Vaudois  communes,  sought 
to  gain  time  from  the  court,  during  which  the  discordant  deputies 
might  apply  for  fresh  instructions.*  But  this  interval  was  soon 
gone.  The  enemies  of  the  Vaudois  were  on  the  alert,  and  Victor 
Amadeus  published,  on  the  9th  of  April,  a  new  edict,  declared 
to  be  final. 

By  this  act,  which  put  an  end  to  all  ulterior  negotiations,  since 
it  settled  beforehand  all  the  points  under  discussion,  nothing  was 
left  to  the  Vaudois,  but  to  choose  between  entire  submission  to 
the  absolute  and  arbitrary  will  of  their  sovereign,  and  an  exile 
encompassed  with  dangers,  snares,  and  perplexities.  According 
to  the  edict,  it  was  lawful  for  the  greater  part  to  remain  in  the 
valleys,  (the  prince,  however,  reserving  to  himself  the  right  of 
exiling  such  as  he  pleased,)  but  on  the  following  conditions  : — > 
The  Vaudois  were  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  retire  each  one 
to  his  own  house  ;  they  were  to  engage  in  no  tumults ;  they  were 
not  to  hold  more  assemblies  than  had  been  usual.  The  damages 
sustained  by  the  missionary  fathers,  by  the  Catholics,  and  the 
Catholic  converts,  were  to  be  made  good  by  means  of  the  pro- 
perty of  the  said  professors  of  the  so-called  reformed  religion. 
The  edict  of  the  31st  of  January  was  in  other  respects  confirmed. 
As  to  those  who  wished  to  leave  the  duke's  domains,  they  were 
allowed  to  carry  away  with  them  such  of  their  effects  as  they 
chose,  and  to  sell  their  goods  to  the  Catholics,  or  to  cause  them 

*  They  returned  with  the  same  instructions  ;  the  three  communes  persisted 
in  maintaining  their  views. 


294  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

to  be  sold  by  a  small  number  of  agents  in  the  three  months  fol- 
lowing their  departure.  They  were  to  travel  in  companies,  and 
under  the  inspection  of  the  authorities.  The  places  of  departure, 
and  days  of  assembling  together,  were  fixed. 

Whatever  was  the  intention  that  dictated  this  decree,  whether 
it  was  hoped  or  not  that  the  Vaudois  would  be  divided,  by  offer- 
ing them  two  methods  instead  of  one,  of  extrication  from  their 
embarrassments,  the  relinquishment  of  their  religious  assemblies, 
or  of  their  native  soil ;  this  end,  at  all  events,  was  not  attained. 
Far  from  disuniting  them,  the  decree  combined  them  all  in  one 
sentiment, — that  of  remaining  and  defending  themselves.  For 
they  saw,  in  different  parts  of  the  ordinance,  the  intention  of 
getting  rid  of  a  certain  number  among  them,  and  of  forcing  the 
rest  to  embrace  popery.  For  why  was  the  decree  of  the  31st  of 
January  maintained,  which  obliged  the  valleys  to  demolish  their 
temples,  if  the  court  seriously  consented  to  their  departure  ? 
Why  should  the  duke  reserve  to  himself  the  power  of  dismissing 
whom  he  pleased,  unless  on  the  supposition  that  the  greater 
number  would  remain  ?  Evidently  it  was  not  his  wish  that  all 
the  Vaudois  should  leave  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  measures  were 
taken  for  preventing  the  celebration  of  the  evangelical  worship ; 
was  not  this  equivalent  to  saying,  that  the  untractable  alone  were 
to  be  dismissed  from  the  territory,  and  that  the  rest  would  be 
forced  to  embrace  popery  ?  This  was  the  general  opinion.* 
Driven  to  such  extremities,  they  had  no  choice  but  to  persevere 
in  an  armed  resistance.  Preparations  were  accordingly  made 
for  the  contest ;  but  the  ministers  were  first  requested  to  preach 
to  the  people,  and  to  administer  the  Lord's  supper  to  them  on 
the  following  Sunday,  which  was  Easter  day. 

Unfortunately,  the  seeds  of  disunion  were  sown  among  the 
Vaudois.  The  valley  of  San  Martino  was  disposed  to  submission 
and  exile.  The  church  of  Villeseche,  in  particular,  wrote  to 
the  ambassadors  that  they  had  decided,  and  requested  them  to 
obtain  a  safe-conduct  for  their  members.  The  duke  refused ; 
the  application,  he  said,  had  not  been  made  in  time. 

*  The  following  fact  confirmed  their  suspicions : — About  fifteen  householders, 
having  requested,  soon  after  the  promulgation  of  the  edict,  to  leave  the  duke's 
domains,  could  not  obtain  permission;  and  as  the  most  of  them  refused  to 
apostatize,  they  were  sent  to  prison,  where  some  died,  and  others  were  not  re- 
leased till  nine  months  after,  with  the  other  prisoners.— Hist,  de  la  Persecu- 
tion, p.  14. 


CATINAT  AND  THE  ARMY  OF  SAVOY.  295 

The  ambassadors,  who,  seeing  the  inutility  of  their  mediation, 
were  preparing  to  depart,  received  again  before  their  departure 
two  letters,  dated  from  Angrogna,  addressed,  one  to  the  evan- 
gelical cantons,  in  the  name  of  the  Vaudois,  the  other  to  the  am- 
bassadors, in  the  name  of  the  pastors :  affecting  letters,  in  which 
gratitude  was  shown  in  lamenting  the  little  benefit  that  had  re- 
sulted from  the  interference  of  the  cantons  and  their  deputies. 
Certainly,  in  reading  them,  their  generous  benefactors  could  not 
say  that  they  had  been  labouring  for  the  ungrateful. 

Meanwhile,  Victor  Amadeus  repaired  to  the  camp  formed  in 
the  plain,  at  the  foot  of  the  Vaudois  Alps,  where  he  had  assem- 
bled his  guard,  all  his  cavalry  and  his  infantry,  as  well  as  the 
militia  of  Mondovi,  Barges,  and  Bagnolo,  besides  a  great  number 
of  foragers.  He  also  reviewed  the  French  troops  under  the 
command  of  Catinat.  These  were  composed  of  some  regiments 
of  cavalry,  seven  or  eight  battalions  of  infantry  who  had  crossed 
the  mountains,  and  a  part  of  the  garrisons  of  Pinerolo  and  Casal. 

On  the  part  of  the  Vaudois,  there  were  two  thousand  frve 
hundred  men  under  arms.  They  had  made  in  each  of  their 
valleys  some  intrenchments  of  turf  and  rough  stones.  If  they 
had  concentrated  their  forces,  instead  of  scattering  them ;  if  they 
had  abandoned  their  advanced  posts,  to  retire  into  the  retreats 
of  the  mountains ;  above  all,  if  they  had  been  of  one  mind  as  to 
the  course  to  be  pursued;  if  they  had  had  at  their  head  ex- 
perienced men,  of  courage  and  influence,  like  a  Leger  or  a 
Janavel ;  if,  at  least,  they  had  not  numbered  among  their  ranks 
the  irresolute,  the  cowardly,  and  probably  the  treacherous,  the 
issue  would  have  been  different ;  but  in  the  actual  state  of  things 
it  could  not  be  otherwise  than  disastrous. 

On  the  22d  of  April,  the  popish  army  began  its  march,  di- 
vided into  two  bodies ;  the  duke's  troops  entered  the  valley  of 
Lucerna,  led  by  their  general,  Gabriel  of  Savoy,  the  duke's 
uncle.  The  French  troops,  commanded  by  Catinat,  took  their 
route  through  the  valleys  of  Perosa  and  San  Martino.  We  shall 
begin  with  narrating  the  operations  of  these  latter. 

Setting  out  before  day,  they  ascended  along  the  left  bank  of 
the  Clusone:  having  arrived  opposite  the  large  village  of  St 
Germain,  Catinat  detached  a  division  of  infantry  and  cavalry, 
with  orders  to  drive  away  the  Vaudois  from  this  locality,  while 
he  continued  his  march.     About  two  hundred  of  the  Vaudois 


296  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

very  soon  retired  behind  the  intrenchments  they  had  raised  on 
the  side  of  Pramol.  There  the  French  colonel,  de  Villevieille, 
met  with  an  invincible  resistance.  His  soldiers,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  six  to  one,  fought  without  success  for  ten  hours,  and  then 
fell  back.  Seeing  this,  the  little  Vaudois  troop  pursued,  routed, 
and  chased  them  as  far  as  Clusone.  Villevieille  threw  himself 
with  seventy  men  into  the  temple  of  St.  Germain.  Being  sum- 
moned to  surrender,  he  constantly  refused,  even  on  honourable 
capitulation.  His  retreat  would  have  been  forced,  if  night  had 
not  come  on,  during  which  fresh  troops  arrived  from  Pinerolo  to 
his  aid.  The  loss  of  the  French,  in  killed  and  wounded,  amount- 
ed to  five  hundred. 

Catinat  pursued  his  march,  and  invested  the  valley  of  San 
Martino.  On  the  next  day,  the  23d,  he  attacked  Rioclaret, 
which  was  without  defence,  as  was  the  whole  valley,  the  in- 
habitants having  reckoned  on  the  benefit  of  the  edict  of  April  9, 
as  they  had  communicated,  through  the  ambassadors,  that  they 
would  submit  and  resign  themselves  to  exile.  They  did  not 
know  that  their  submission  had  been  rejected.  The  French, 
irritated  by  the  defeat  of  their  troops  at  St.  Germain,  of  which 
the  news  had  just  reached  them,  were  not  content  with  pillaging, 
burning,  and  violating ;  they  massacred,  without  distinction  of  sex 
or  age,  with  unheard-of  fury,  all  who  had  not  escaped  by  flight 
from  their  barbarity.  Catinat,  leaving  a  part  of  his  troops  in 
the  valley  of  San  Martino,  where  they  put  all  to  fire  and  sword, 
then  crossed  the  mountains  on  his  left,  and  fell  upon  the  valley 
of  Pramol,  which  his  soldiers  treated  in  the  same  manner.  On 
hearing  of  these  excesses,  the  two  hundred  Vaudois  who  were 
intrenched  behind  St.  Germain,  towards  Pramol,  seeing  them- 
selves cut  off,  nfade  haste  to  quit  a  post  now  useless,  and  rejoined, 
in  the  district  of  Peumian,  those  of  their  brethren  of  Pramol,  St. 
Germain,  Prarustin,  and  Rocheplatte,  who  were  assembled  there. 

While  all  this  was  going  on,  the  army  of  Savoy  attacked  the 
valley  of  Lucerna.  When  it  reached  San  Giovanni,  on  April 
22,  it  swept  away,  by  the  fire  of  its  artillery  and  the  charges  of 
the  cavalry,  all  the  advanced  corps  of  the  Vaudois,  and  then 
attacked  the  valley  of  Angrogna,  defended  by  five  hundred 
mountaineers.  These  brave  men,  having  taken  refuge  in  the 
intrenchments  they  had  cast  up  in  a  place  called  the  Casses, 
(Cassa,)  and  on  the  heights  of  La  Vachere,  which  had  already 


SUBMISSION  OP  THE  VAUDOIS.  297 

witnessed  so  many  terrible  combats,  resisted  for  a  whole  day  all 
the  duke's  forces.  But,  on  the  24th,  haying  learned  that  the 
valley  of  San  Martino  had  surrendered,  and  that  the  French, 
already  masters  of  Pramol,  were  about  to  attack  them  in  the 
rear,  the  Vaudois  sent  a  flag  of  truce.  The  general  Gabriel,  of 
Savoy,  promised  to  admit  them  to  the  benefit  of  the  edict  of 
April  9,  if  they  submitted.  And  as  they  still  hesitated,  he  wrote 
a  note,  signed  with  his  own  hand,  in  the  duke's  name,  in  the 
following  terms :  "  Lay  down  your  arms  immediately,  and  trust 
yourself  to  the  clemency  of  his  royal  highness.  On  these  con- 
ditions, be  assured  he  will  show  you  favour,  and  that  you  6hall 
not  be  injured,  either  in  your  own  persons,  or  in  that  of  your 
wives  and  children."  On  this  promise  the  Vaudois  laid  down 
their  arms,  and  the  Piedmontese  army  occupied  their  intrench- 
ments. 

Nevertheless,  under  the  pretext  of  conducting  them  to  the 
duke,  for  the  purpose  of  making  their  submission,  they  brought 
all  the  able-bodied  men  to  Lucerna,  where  they  kept  them  as 
prisoners.  The  abandoned  soldiery,  masters  of  the  hamlets,  in- 
dulged meanwhile  in  all  the  irregular  acts  of  the  most  shameful 
licentiousness  and  the  most  terrible  brutality.  The  same  scenes 
passed  at  Pra-di-torre,  the  ancient  bulwark  of  the  valleys, 
whither  the  inhabitants  of  Angrogna,  San  Giovanni,  and  La 
Torre  had  withdrawn  their  most  valuable  effects.  There  also 
the  Vaudois  trusted  to  a  faithless  proposal,  and  saw  themselves 
unworthily  treated,  they  and  their  families  being  alike  defence- 
less. It  was  the  same  with  fifteen  hundred  persons  who  were 
collected  at  Peumian,  near  Pramol,  some  refugees  at  Ciamprama 
and  Geymets,  retired  localities  in  La  Torre  ;  and,  in  a  word,  to 
avoid  repetitions,  throughout  all  the  valleys.  All  the  detach- 
ments, even  those  which  were  intrenched  in  the  strongest 
places,  were  alarmed  at  finding  themselves  isolated  in  the  midst 
of  a  population  who  submitted  themselves  in  succession.  Uneasy 
in  regard  to  the  future,  they  lent  an  ear  to  the  fair  words  and 
promises  of  their  enemies,  and  surrendered  themselves,  one  after 
another.  The  Vaudois  of  Bobbio  were  the  last  to  surrender, 
and  not  without  having  made  a  brave  defence.  They  laid  down 
their  arms  on  the  rocks  of  Vandalin. 

We  shall  not  soil  our  pages  by  detailing  the  horrible  deeds 
committed  by  the  soldiers  of  Catinat  on  the  weaker  sex  at 
13* 

■ 


298  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Peuinian,  after  the  departure  of  their  commander ;  nor  by  the 
recital  of  those  with  which  the  duke's  troops,  especially  the  bands 
of  Mondovi,  disgraced  themselves  at  Angrogna,  and  in  the  val- 
ley ofLucerna.  These  atrocities,  which  too  much  resemble 
those  of  the  persecution  of  1 655,  have  been  detailed  in  the 
authentic  work  already  cited,  entitled,  Histoire  de  la  Persecution 
des  Vallees  du  Pie'mont  en  1686,  (History  of  the  Persecution  of 
the  Valleys  of  Piedmont  in  1686,)  printed  at  Rotterdam  in 
1689.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  generals  in  the  war  against  the 
Vaudois,  always  regarded  the  wives  and  daughters  of  their  ene- 
mies merely  as  victims  for  their  licentious  soldiers,  and  the  old 
men  and  children  as  playthings  on  which  to  try  their  swords. 

From  all  quarters,  armed  bands  conducted  prisoners  to  Lu- 
cerna.  They  had  been  promised,  that,  after  having  performed 
an  act  of  submission  before  his  royal  highness,  they  should  be 
sent  to  their  homes,  where  they  would  decide  either  for  exile  or 
popery.  Instead  of  this,  they  saw  themselves  separated  from 
one  another,  sons  from  their  fathers,  husbands  from  their  wives, 
parents  from  their  children,  and  conducted  to  fortified  places. 
Twelve  thousand  persons,*  men,  women,  and  children,  were,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days,  dragged  from  their  native  soil,  dis- 
tributed in  thirteen  or  fourteen  fortresses,  where  we  shall  soon 
see  they  endured  a  thousand  evils.  About  two  thousand  chil- 
dren, abducted  from  their  parents,  were  at  the  same  time  dis- 
persed throughout  Piedmont  among  the  papists. 

Many  executions  also  took  place.  We  shall  only  give  that  of 
the  minister  Leidet,  of  Prali.  After  passing  many  months  in 
prison,  fed  on  bread  and  water,  having  one  foot  fastened  in 
heavy  wooden  stocks,  which  prevented  his  lying  down,  he  was 
condemned  to  death,  as  if  he  had  been  taken  bearing  arms, 
which  was  not  the  case,  for  he  was  found  under  a  rock,  singing 
psalms.  The  monks,  who  allowed  him  no  rest,  for  they  came 
every  day  to  worry  him  (so  to  speak)  about  his  faith,  and  to 
provoke  him  to  a  disputation,  were  determined  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  tormenting  him  in  his  last  moments.  Having  been 
present  when  his  sentence  was  read,  which  the  martyr  heard 

*  These  are  the  numbers  given  in  the  Hist,  de  la  Persecution.  Arnaud  raises 
them  to  fourteen  thousand,  a  number  which  corresponds  better  with  that 
stated  to  the  Swiss  ambassadors  to  the  Valleys.  (See  Histoire  de  la  Nesrocia- 
tion,  p.  63.) 


LEIDET  A  MARTYR.  299 

without  agitation,  the  monks  would  not  leave  him,  and  gave  him 
no  rest  all  day,  though  he  entreated  them,  saying  that  he  wished 
to  pray  to  God  with  freedom  of  spirit.  Moreover,  they  returned 
on  the  morrow  at  daybreak  to  harass  him  again.  Yet  they  could 
not.  disturb  his  peace.  As  he  came  out  of  his  prison,  he  spoke 
of  the  twofold  deliverance  he  was  about  to  enjoy,  namely,  that 
from  the  captivity  which  he  had  so  long  endured  within  those 
narrow  walls,  and  that  which  death  would  give  his  soul,  free 
from  that  moment  to  ascend  to  heaven  !  He  went  to  execution 
with  holy  exultation.  At  the  foot  of  the  scaffold  he  made  a 
long  and  admirable  prayer,  which  deeply  affected  the  attendants. 
Ho  borrowed  his  last  words  from  his  Redeemer  ;  "  Father,"  he 
cried,  "  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit." 

Thus  Victor  Amadeus  succeeded.  From  the  gardens  of  the 
palace  of  Lucerna,  whither  he  had  come  to  enjoy  the  victory,  he 
could  behold  the  ravages  made  by  his  triumphant  army.  The 
fields  that  lay  before  his  eyes  were  deserted,  the  hamlets  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains,  the  smiling  villages,  with  their  green 
bowers  and  rich  orchards,  no  longer  contained  one  of  their  an- 
cient inhabitants ;  the  valleys  no  longer  resounded  with  the 
bleatings  of  the  flocks  and  the  voices  of  the  shepherds ;  the 
fields,  the  meadows,  the  vineyards,  the  alpine  pasture-lands, 
scenes  once  so  beautiful, — all  these  districts,  so  happy  in  the  pre- 
vious spring,  were  reduced  to  one  vast  solitude,  dreary  as  the 
wildest  rocks. 

Upon  the  most  remote  Alps,  in  the  midst  of  forests,  and  in 
holes  of  the  rocks,  a  few  persons  had,  nevertheless,  succeeded  in 
concealing  themselves,  living  by  stealth  on  the  remnants  of  their 
provisions,  and  on  what  they  could  find  around  their  retreats  : 
and  when  the  French  had  retired  with  the  bands  of  Mondovi, 
and  a  part  of  the  Piedmontese  troops,  these  unfortunate  people 
issued  from  their  hiding-places.  They  soon  collected  together, 
and  rendered  assistance  to  each  other.  Being  often  obliged  to 
descend  to  the  inhabited  places  to  seek  for  food,  they  rendered 
themselves  formidable.  The  armed  force  which  frequently 
chased  them,  could  neither  intimidate  nor  lay  hold  of  them. 
Their  boldness  accordingly  increased.  Unable  to  defeat  them, 
their  enemies  offered  them  passports,  on  condition  of  their  emi- 
grating. They  only  consented  when  hostages  had  been  given 
them,  which  one  band  guarded  while   another  travelled,  and 


300  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

when  some  of  their  relations,  prisoners  in  the  fortresses,  had 
been  permitted  to  go  with  them.  They  reached  Switzerland  in 
three  detachments,  in  the  course  of  November.* 

The  evangelical  cantons  of  Switzerland,  although  their  inter- 
ference had  been  unavailing,  and  they  had  not  been  able  to 
save  their  brethren  in  the  faith  from  the  catastrophe  that  had 
befallen  them,  never  ceased  to  feel  a  lively  interest  on  their  be- 
half. They  supplicated  God  for  them  on  an  extraordinary  fast- 
day,  and  ordered  collections  through  all  their  territory  .f  They 
redoubled  their  importunity  with  the  court  of  Turin ;  and  as 
they  had  been  informed  that  the  Count  de  Govon,  the  resident 
of  Savoy  in  Switzerland,  had  received  power  to  treat  with  them, 
they  charged  two  deputies  with  this  mission,  after  having  de- 
liberated on  the  basis  of  this  negotiation,  in  their  assembly  at 
Arau,  in  September,  1686.  The  plenipotentiaries  agreed,  sub- 
ject to  ratification,  that  all  the  prisoners  should  be  set  at  liberty, 
decently  clothed,  conducted  to  the  borders  of  Switzerland  at  the 
expense  of  the  duke,  and  that  those  who  still  wandered  on  the 
mountains  should  receive  passports  for  the  same  destination. 
The  Swiss,  on  their  part,  engaged  to  receive  them,  and  keep 
them  in  the  heart  of  their  country,  so  that  they  might  not  return. 
The  ratification  of  the  convention  was  immediate  on  the  part  of 
the  Swiss  ;  it  was  less  readily  given  by  the  duke,  who  neverthe- 
less signed  it. 

The  decision  of  the  evangelical  cantons  of  Switzerland  is 
above,  all  praise.  They  charged  themselves  entirely  with  an 
unfortunate  people.  They  had  some  thousands  of  sickly,  suffer- 
ing, and  dejected  persons  to  feed,  lodge,  and  maintain.  What 
a  burden  for  their  slender  means !  It  is  true  they  might  calcu- 
late on  succour  from  the  Protestants  of  Europe,  but  they  knew 
not  to  what  amount.  One  source  was  dried  up,  namely,  in 
France,  whence  the  persecuted  Protestants  had  escaped  by 
thousands  in  quest  of  an  asylum,  and  sometimes  even  of  bread. 
England,  where  a  Roman  Catholic  king,  James  II.,  favoured  the 
religion  of  the  pope,  and  which  was  itself  engaged  in  opposing 

*  Dieterici,  die  Waldenser,  p.  136.— Boyer,  p.  260.— Hist,  de  la  Persecution, 
p.  27.— Archives  de  Geneve,  register  of  the  26th  November,  1686,  p.  306.  We 
there  read  that  eighty  Vaudois,  men,  women,  and  children,  had  just  arrived. 
See  the  same  for  the  other  detachments. 

t  Extracted  from  the  public  register  of  Berne.    I.ivre  des  Mandats,  p.  726. 


THEIR  STATE  IN  THE  FORTRESSES.  301 

his  pretensions,  had  not  sufficient  liberty  to  make  collections  in 
favour  of  those  whom  it  formerly  protected.  Holland  and  Ger- 
many alone,  although  worn  out  by  long  and  expensive  wars, 
could  still  in  some  degree  assist  the  unfortunate  people  whom 
they  had  often  supported  in  their  distress.  The  cantons  ac- 
quainted them  with  their  intentions,  and  expected  a  favourable 
answer.  The  elector  of  Brandenburg,  Frederick  William, 
was  the  first  who  replied  to  their  appeal ;  the  states  of  Holland 
followed ;  and  after  them  several  German  princes,  who  will  be 
named  in  their  proper  place.  In  passing,  let  us  pay  our  first 
tribute  of  admiration  to  these  Swiss  cantons,  who,  from  their 
proximity  to  the  valleys,  were  called  on,  prior  to  all  their  other 
brethren,  to  give  proof  of  their  sincere  charity  to  the  suffering 
disciples  of  Christ. 

The  autumn  was  drawing  to  a  close,  the  snow  already  whitened 
the  summits  of  the  alpine  passes :  it  would  soon  cover  all  the 
heights,  and  threaten  with  its  avalanches  and  whirlwinds  impru- 
dent or  late  travellers.  Yet  the  Vaudois  were  still  in  prison. 
According  to  the  best  accounts,  there  were,  in  the  spring,  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  thousand  in  confinement.  They  could  not 
all  be  restored  to  liberty,  for  already  five  hundred  of  them  had 
been  placed  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  duke.  This  prince, 
desirous  of  showing  his  gratitude  for  the  succour  afforded  him 
by  the  king  of  France,  had  sent  this  number  of  his  subjects  as  a 
present  to  his  most  Christian  majesty,  who  had  deposited  them 
in  his  galleys  at  Marseilles.*  A  great  number  of  those  who  were 
left  in  the  fortresses  died  in  them,  of  chagrin  or  disease.  A  change 
of  situation  so  complete  had  brought  to  the  grave  men  accustom- 
ed to  inhale  the  mountain  breezes,  to  live  in  the  fields,  or  herds- 
men's cottages,  and,  above  all,  to  liberty.  Bad  water,  scanty  fare, 
confinement  in  narrow  rooms,  lying  on  the  hard  bricks  with  which 
they  were  paved,  or  on  straw  reduced  to  powder  or  rotten,  the 
suffocating  heat  of  summer,  the  chilliness  of  the  nights  as  soon  as 
winter  came,  and  the  vermin  that  covered  their  emaciated  bodies, 
had  aggravated  the  morbid  tendencies  of  many,  and  produced 
epidemic  disorders.  Seventy-five  sick  persons  had  been  found 
at  a  time  in  one  room.  Moreover,  they  received  little  or  no  medi- 
cal aid.  It  is  said  that  many  children  with  the  small-pox  died 
from  exposure  to  the  rain.    If  the  Vaudois  wanted  aid  for  their 

*  See  Dieterici,  p.  128. 


302  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

suffering  bodies,  to  make  up  for  that,  they  were  constantly  beset 
by  the  monks.  Certain  it  is,  that  of  twelve  thousand  who  entered 
the  prisons,  not  more  than  three  or  four  thousand  emigrated  to 
Switzerland.  What  became  of  the  rest  ?  The  greater  part  had 
died ;  others  turned  Catholics.*  Many  children  and  young  per- 
sons had  been  taken  away;  lastly,  a  considerable  number  of 
adults  were  condemned  for  their  lives  to  the  fortifications  and 
the  galleys. 

As  to  the  rest,  there  is  one  fact  which  furnishes  decisive  proof 
of  the  determined  intention  of  the  Piedmontese  government  to 
treat  the  miserable  remains  of  the  Vaudois  with  the  utmost  rigour ; 
and  that  is,  the  hindrance  put  in  the  way  of  their  departure,  and 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  at  last  effected.  It  was  winter,  a  sea- 
son in  which  no  one,  unless  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  would  at- 
tempt to  cross  the  Alps.  This  observation,  which  is  true  in  our 
days,  notwithstanding  the  excellent  roads  now  made  across  the 
mountains,  would  be  particularly  so  two  centuries  ago,  when  the 
means  of  communication  were  so  inferior  to  what  they  have  since 
become.  A  journey  which  some  robust  persons  would  not  have 
attempted  without  hesitation,  on  account  of  the  perils  of  the  sea- 
son, the  ice  and  snows,  it  was  cruel  and  barbarous,  to  force  thou- 
sands of  men,  enfeebled  by  disease  and  imprisonment,  to  under- 
take, in  the  depth  of  winter,  across  the  Alps;  and  also  old  men, 
worn  down  by  sufferings  as  well  as  by  years,  besides  women  and 
children  of  the  tenderest  age.  It  was  to  consent  beforehand  to 
the  death  of  a  multitude  of  them,  and  even  to  ensure  it.  Spirit 
of  Papal  Rome,  how  many  victims  hast  thou  made  ! 

It  may  perhaps  be  said,  not  without  foundation,  that  in  choosing 
this  season,  the  ministers  of  Victor  Amadeus  reckoned  on  the 
discouragement  that  would  seize  the  unfortunate  exiles,  in  the 
prospect  of  the  sufferings  and  perils  that  awaited  them,  which 
might  induce  them  to  apostatize,  and  thus  retain  them  in  the  duke's 
domains.  But  if  the  end  was  praiseworthy,  were  the  means  so  ? 
No  man  of  the  slightest  humanity,  and  much  more,  no  Christian, 
could  assent  to  this.  . 

The  intention  of  retaining  within  the  duke's  dominions  these 
poor  prisoners,  who  for  eight  months  had  been  deprived  of  their 

*  Those  who  apostatized  were  in  hopes  that  their  goods  would  be  restored  to 
them,  which  was  not  the  case.  These  persons  were  mostly  distributed  through 
the  province  of  Vercelli.    (Hist,  de  la  Persecution,  p.  32.) 


THEIR  TRAVELLING  IN  THE  DEPTH  OF  WINTER.      303 

liberty,  appeared  evident  from  the  means  that  were  employed 
to  damp  their  courage.  Proclamation  was  made,  it  is  true,  that 
all,  even  those  who  had  promised  to  abjure,  were  at  liberty  to 
depart ;  but,  as  the  accounts  state,  it  was  attempted  to  allure  by 
promises,  or  to  deter  by  a  description  of  the  dangers  of  all  kinds 
that  they  might  expect  on  the  road.  Many,  in  fact,  suffered 
themselves  to  be  dissuaded.  But  nothing  could  stop  the  general 
movement.  Yet  a  great  number  of  children,  who,  although  scat- 
tered through  Piedmont,  had  heard  of  the  proclamation,  were 
prevented  from  rejoining  their  parents,  when  they  made  the  at- 
tempt. Moreover,  the  proclamation  was  not  published  in  the 
prisons  of  Lucerna ;  it  was  only  posted  up  in  the  market-place ; 
so  that  those  who  were  detained  in  this  town  could  not  avail  them- 
selves of  the  liberty  that  was  granted  them.  The  prisoners,  also, 
who  groaned  in  the  deep  dungeons  of  Asti,  were  detained,  as 
well  as  their  parents,  who  waited  for  them  in  the  citadel  of  Turin. 
Within  the  walls  of  the  latter  place  nine  pastors,  with  their  fami- 
lies, were  enclosed ;  of  whom  mention  will  be  made  in  the  sequel. 

The  Vaudois  travelled  in  companies,  escorted  by  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  duke.  They  were  promised  decent  clothing, 
but  only  a  small  number  of  pairs  of  stockings  and  of  jackets  were 
distributed  among  them.  The  two  following  facts  will  suffice  to 
depict  the  situation  of  these  unfortunate  beings.  At  Mondovi, 
it  was  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at  Christmas,  when  their 
liberation  was  announced  to  the  prisoners,  but  with  the  addition 
that  if  they  did  not  set  out  forthwith,  it  would  be  out  of  their 
power  altogether,  as  the  order  would  be  revoked  the  next  day. 
Fearful  of  losing  the  favourable  opportunity,  these  unfortunate 
persons,  wasted  by  disease,  set  out  on  their  march  by  night  and 
walked  four  or  five  leagues  through  the  snow,  and  in  the  most 
intense  frost.  This  first  march  cost  the  lives  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  of  them,  who  died  on  the  road,  without  their  brethren  being 
able  to  give  them  any  aid. 

The  other  fact  was  this.  A  troop  of  prisoners  from  Fossan 
having  passed  a  night  at  Novalese,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Cenis, 
some  of  thorn,  on  setting  out  again,  remarked  to  the  officer  who 
conducted  them  that  a  storm  was  rising  on  the  mountain.  In 
the  Alps,  during  the  winter  season,  persons  never  expose  them- 
selves to  these  storms  without  bitterly  repenting.  The  Vaudois, 
to  whom  from  their  habits  of  observation  the  danger  was  obvious, 


304  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

begged  that  their  march  might  be  suspended,  out  of  pity  for  so 
many  weak  and  exhausted  persons  who  were  to  be  found  in  their 
ranks.  If  their  request  caused  delay,  they  would  not  ask  for 
food.  They  saw  less  danger  in  going  without  food  than  in  travel- 
ling at  such  a  season.  The  officer  refused.  The  company  was 
forced  to  proceed  on  its  march,  and  eighty-six  sunk  in  the  drifted 
snow,  and  were  frozen  to  death  ;*  they  were  the  aged  and  sick, 
women  and  little  children.  The  bands  that  followed,  and  mer- 
chants that  passed  that  way  some  days  after,  saw  the  bodies 
stretched  upon  the  snow,  the  mothers  still  pressing  their  children 
in  their  arms.  The  Swiss  commissioners,  of  whom  mention  will 
soon  be  made,  requested,  when  they  returned  to  Turin,  that 
measures  might  be  taken  to  bury  the  bodies  as  they  became  ex- 
posed to  view. 

Yet  we  do  not  say  (God  forbid !)  that  all  the  officers  were  like 
this  one.  There  were  several  who  displayed  great  humanity  in 
the  accomplishment  of  their  painful  task. 

The  news  of  such  sufferings  endured  in  the  prisons  and  on  the 
journey,  brought  by  the  first  detachment  of  the  unfortunate  Vau- 
dois,  no  sooner  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  magistrates  of  the 
cantons  than,  moved  with  pity  and  following  the  inspirations  of 
Christian  charity,  they  sent  commissioners  to  the  spot,  who  were 
directed  to  relieve  the  exiles  by  all  possible  means.  These  agents, 
with  the  permission  of  the  Piedmontese  authorities,  stationed 
themselves,  in  the  beginning  of  February,  along  the  road  to  Turin ; 
one  at  Chambery  or  Annecy,  another  at  St.  Jean  de  Maurienne, 
a  third  at  Lans  le  Bourg,  a  fourth  at  Suza.  Their  names  were, 
Roy,  lord  of  Romainmotier,  Forestier  of  Cully,  Panchaud  of 
Morges,  and  Cornilliat  of  Nyon.  Their  correspondence  with  the 
government  of  Berne  shows  that  they  were  well  qualified  for  the 
commission  intrusted  to  their  care.  Each  one,  at  his  station,  pro- 
vided the  unfortunate  Vaudois,  on  their  arrival,  during  their  short 
stay,  and  on  their  departure,  with  every  comfort  which  sickness, 
fatigue,  age,  feebleness,  or  the  inclemency  of  the  season  could 
call  for.  To  furnish  the  means  of  transport  to  all,  medicines  and 
warm  clothing  to  others,  money  to  a  great  number ;  to  give  to 
all  consolation  and  encouragement,  such  was  the  task  in  the  per- 
formance of  which  these  benevolent  individuals  gained  the  praise 

"  Besides  the  eighty-six  Vaudois,  six  of  the  duke's  guards,  with  the  drummer, 
lost  their  lives.    (Letter  of  M.  Truchet,  in  the  Archives  of  Berne,  mark  C) 


THEIR  TRAVELLING  IN  THE  DEPTH  OF  WINTER.      305 

of  their  superiors  and  the  profound  gratitude  of  the  exiles.  By 
their  attentions,  multitudes,  who  were  weak,  exhausted,  and  de- 
jected, acquired  strength  and  courage,  and  were  enabled  to  re- 
join their  brethren,  whom  otherwise  they  would  never  have  been 
in  a  state  to  follow,  and  consequently  would  have  seen  no  more. 
On  many  occasions,  they  accompanied  one  and  another  band  to 
their  destination,  when  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  numerous 
children  required  their  presence.  Their  inquiries  and  protests 
led  also  to  the  liberation  of  the  greater  number  of  the  children 
and  girls  that  had  been  taken  away  from  their  parents,  while 
they  were  travelling. 

Towards  the  middle  of  February,  when  the  principal  bands 
of  the  Vaudois  had  passed,*  two  of  the  commissioners,  Messieurs 
Roy  and  Forestier,  conformably  to  the  instructions  of  their 
superiors,  repaired  to  Turin,  to  solicit  the  liberation  of  the  re- 
maining prisoners,  namely,  the  ministers  and  their  families,  as 
well  as  those  who  had  taken  up  arms.  They  also  claimed  the 
children  who  had  been  taken  away  during  the  preceding  dis- 
turbances. 

The  presence  of  the  commissioners  at  Turin  produced  irrita- 
tion. Such  urgency  was  looked  upon  with  an  evil  eye.  The 
Romish  propaganda  took  offence  at  it.  The  Vaudois  pastors, 
who  before  could  sometimes  leave  the  prison  under  the  inspec- 
tion of  an  officer,  no  longer  received  this  indulgence-!  The 
numerous  barbets,  or  Vaudois  footmen,  whom  the  gentry  placed 
in  a  livery  behind  their  carriages,  were  no  longer  to  be  seen. 
All  the  claims  for  the  abducted  children  were  disregarded.  The 
commissioners  only  obtained  leave  to  visit  the  ministers,  and  that 
in  the  presence  of  several  officers.  But,  as  if  the  interest  shown 
towards  them  was  a  sufficient  reason  for  tightening  the  bonds  of 
the  prisoners,  the  next  morning  three  pastors  and  their  families, 
with  a  malefactor  from  Mondovi,  were  sent  away  to  the  castle 
of  Nice.  On  the  following  day,  three  other  pastors,  with  their 
families,  were  despatched  to  Montmeillan.  The  malefactor  of 
Mondovi  was  not  forgotten.  The  commissioners,  having  been 
apprized  of  the  departure  of  the  first  and  second,  watched  in  the 

*  The  last  reached  Geneva  at  the  end  of  February ;  after  this  the  commis- 
sioners Panchaud  and  Cornilliat  returned  home. 

t  There  were  nine  in  the  citadel  of  Turin,  (besides  their  families,  consisting 
of  forty-seven  persons  ;)  they  were  Malanot ;  Jahier,  of  Pramol ;  Laurent ; 
Giraud ;  Jahier,  of  Rocheplatte  ;  Chauvie,  Bastie,  Leger,  and  Bertrand. 


306  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

neighbourhood  of  the  citadel  for  the  setting  out  of  the  last.  At 
the  head  of  the  procession  was  the  bandit  in  chains ;  then  came 
a  cart  with  the  children  and  the  sick ;  next  the  three  ministers 
and  their  wives  on  foot,  accompanied  by  a  sergeant-major. 
Directing  their  course  to  the  Po,  they  embarked  on  it  for  the 
castle  of  Vercelli.  The  commissioners  were  scarcely  allowed  to 
exchange  a  few  words  with  them,  and  to  furnish  them  with  what 
money  they  had.  The  father  of  the  minister  Bastie,  sixty-five 
years  old,  and  in  bad  health,  was  separated  from  his  son,  and 
remained  in  the  citadel,  with  one  person  of  his  family  to  assist 
him.* 

It  was  not  that  the  duke's  council  had  resolved  on  the  de- 
struction of  these  faithful  pastors ;  they  had  even  promised  to 
release  them  in  the  course  of  time ;  but  they  dreaded  their  in- 
fluence on  the  exiles,  and  wished  to  keep  them  apart  for  some 
time  longcr.f 

The  efforts  to  obtain  the  return  of  the  young  children  who 
were  taken  from  their  parents  at  the  time  of  their  imprisonment, 
remained  without  success.  The  commissioners  returned  in  the 
course  of  May,  1687,  having  had  the  satisfaction,  if  not  of  saving 
all  the  unfortunate  victims  of  oppression  for  whom  they  laboured, 
yet  of  preventing  very  great  evils,  and  becoming,  to  a  great 
number,  a  support  against  discouragement,  an  aid  in  distress, 
guides  to  brave  the  storm,  and  skilful  pilots,  to  bring  with  a 
friendly  hand  the  almost  shipwrecked  bark  into  port.  Christ, 
the  Head  of  the  Church,  had  promised  faithful  protectors  and 
sympathizing  brethren  for  his  witnesses  while  bearing  the  cross. 
Switzerland  was  the  asylum  where,  by  their  care,  the  children 
of  the  martyrs,  the  descendants  of  the  primitive  Christians,  came 
to  sit  down  by  the  side  of  the  sons  of  freedom,  in  the  dwellings 
of  the  disciples  of  the  reformers,  Calvin,  Viret,  Farel,  Zwingle, 
(Ecolampadius,  and  Haller,  ancient  and  revered  friends  of  their 
fathers. 

*  See  the  letter  of  April  2,  (12th,)  1687,  from  the  Commissioners  to  their  Ex- 
cellencies.   Mark  C  of  the  Archives  of  Berne. 

t  Among  the  Vaudois  pastors  after  their  return,  we  find  six  of  those  here 
mentioned,  Bastie,  Leger,  Giraud,  Malanot,  and  the  two  Jahiers.  The  names 
of  the  others  do  not  occur  again,  to  our  knowledge. 


THEIR  ARRIVAL  AT  GENEVA.  307 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE    VAUDOIS     REFUGEES     IN     SWITZERLAND     AND     GERMANY 
RETURN   IN   ARMS   TO   THEIR  COUNTRY  AND  OBTAIN  PEACE. 

(1686-1690.) 

Two  thousand  six  hundred  Yaudois,  men,  women,  and  children, 
were  received  within  the  walls  of  hospitable  Geneva.*  About 
one  hundred  and  sixty,  in  two  or  three  bands,  had  reached  that 
city  before  them  in  the  preceding  autumn.  A  nearly  equal 
number,  retarded  by  sickness,  abduction,  or  imprisonment,  gra- 
dually joined  the  main  body,  which,  with  all  these  additions, 
never  reached  three  thousand :  the  feeble  remnant  of  a  popula- 
tion of  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  thousand.  Moreover,  they  were 
either  sick  or  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  anxiety,  and  the  greater 
part  indifferently  protected  against  the  rigours  of  winterf  by  the 
old  garments  they  had  worn  in  prison.  There  were  some  whose 
lives  ended  at  the  very  moment  their  liberty  began,  and  who 
expired  between  the  two  gates  of  the  city ;  but  in  proportion  as 
the  wounds  to  be  dressed  were  deep  and  alarming,  the  Genevese 
charity  exerted  itself  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  The 
population  hastened  forth  to  meet  the  exiles  as  far  as  the  bridge 
of  the  Arve,  which  is  the  frontier.  The  magistrates  were  obliged 
to  prohibit  persons  from  going  out  of  the  city  in  this  manner,  on 
account  of  the  embarrassment  which  resulted  from  this  eagerness. 
It  was  a  point  of  contention  who  should  have  the  honour  of 
lodging  one  of  these  persecuted  Christians.  The  greatest  in- 
valids and  sufferers  were  taken  by  preference.^  If  they  had  any 
difficulty  in  walking,  men  carried  them  in  their  arms  into  their 
houses.  Their  hosts,  as  well  as  the  committee  of  the  Italian 
Exchange,  provided  clothes  for  all.  If  Geneva  did  so  much  for 
the  Yaudois,  it  was  because  she  believed  that  by  the  presence  of 

*  This  is  the  number  stated  in  the  letter  of  March  19,  (29th,)  1687,  addressed 
from  Switzerland  to  the  Marquis  de  St.  Thomas,  the  duke's  minister  at  Turin. 
— Archives  of  Berne,  mark  C. 

t  The  journey  was  made  in  January  and  February,  1687.  The  duke  had 
clothed  a  small  part  of  them,  very  indifferently. 

$  Amaud  says,  "  The  Genevese  contested  with  one  another  who  should  take 
home  the  most  destitute." 


308  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

these  martyrs  she  would  receive  in  spiritual  blessings  more  than 
she  could  render  to  them  in  temporal  aid. 

One  scene,  which  was  repeated  every  time  a  new  company 
of  exiles  entered  the  city,  deeply  touched  the  hearts  of  the  by- 
standers, namely,  the  search  made  by  the  first  and  last  comers 
for  their  relations,  the  questions  they  put,  and  the  answers  they 
received  respecting  the  fate  of  a  father,  a  mother,  a  husband,  a 
wife,  or  of  brothers,  sisters,  and  children,  whom  they  had  not 
seen  for  ten  months.  We  can  scarcely  tell  which  answer  was 
the  most  overwhelming,  "  Your  father  died  in  prison,"  "  Your 
husband  has  become  a  papist,"  "  Your  child  has  been  carried 
away,"  or,  "  No  one  has  heard  a  word  about  the  person  you  are 
inquiring  for."  It  was  not  only  bread,  and  clothing,  and  an 
asylum,  which  these  children  of  the  Alps  had  need  of,  they 
wanted  also  sincere  friends  to  mourn  with  them,  and  console 
them  in  their  afflictions. 

If  they  met  with  sympathizing  hearts  at  Geneva,  they  also 
found  many  in  the  cities  and  country  places  of  Protestant 
Switzerland  and  Germany,  where  the  Christian  brotherhood 
received  them  ;*  for  they  could  not  remain  at  Geneva.  The 
treaty  concluded  by  the  evangelical  cantons  with  the  duke,  for 
the  emigration  of  the  Yaudois,  specified  their  withdrawment 
from  the  frontiers.  Consequently,  in  proportion  as  they  re- 
covered from  their  fatigue,  they  were  transported  to  the  Pays 
de  Vaud,  and  thence  by  Yverdon,  by  the  lakes  and  rivers,  into 
the  interior  of  Switzerland. 

The  evangelical  cantons,  Berne  especially,  had  already  sup- 
ported thousands  of  the  French  refugees.  These  victims  of  the 
cruelty  of  Louis  XIV.,  were,  one-fourth  or  one-third  of  them, 
assisted  by  public  and  private  charity.  The  Vaudois,  therefore, 
being  quite  destitute  of  everything,  gave  occasion  for  a  super- 
added expense  to  the  state  and  people,  which  was  a  heavy 
charge ;  but  wise  measures  had  been  taken.  Berne,  for  example, 
had  made  preparations  from  the  moment  that  emigration  had 
been  decided  upon.    Five  thousand  ells  of  linen  had  been  made 

*  A  Vaudois,  the  author  of  the  "  Histoire  de  la  Persecution  des  Vallees  du 
Piemont,"  printed  at  Rotterdam  in  1689,  from  which  we  have  taken  most  of  the 
preceding  details,  expresses  his  gratitude  in  these  words  :— "  With  respect  to 
the  Vaudois,  as  well  as  other  refugees,  we  may  say  that  Switzerland  was  a 
secure  haven,  formed  by  God's  own  hand,  to  save  from  shipwreck  those  who 
were  exposed  to  the  waves  of  persecution." 


DESIRE  TO  RETURN  TO  THE  VALLEYS.     309 

into  under  garments ;  an  equal  quantity  of  the  common  woollen 
stuffs  of  Oberland  had  been  used  to  prepare  warm  outer  gar- 
ments. Hundreds  of  pairs  of  shoes  were  laid  up  in  the  depots. 
The  bailiffs,  being  informed  betimes  of  the  wish  of  their  excel- 
lencies, had  stimulated  (if,  indeed,  that  were  necessary)  the 
generous  sentiments  of  the  communal  administrations  and  of  in- 
dividuals. Another  fast  in  February,  1687,  at  the  moment  when 
the  great  body  of  the  exiles  entered  Geneva,  had  prepared  their 
hearts  by  the  inspirations  of  religion.  Another  collection  had 
been  made  at  the  same  time.  The  reformed  Swiss  received  with 
open  arms  their  brethren  of  Piedmont,  as  they  had  already  re- 
ceived those  of  France ;  and  with  still  greater  compassion,  for 
the  Vaudois  needed  it  more.  The  evangelical  cantons  distri- 
buted the  refugees  among  them  in  a  fixed  proportion.  Zurich 
took  thirty  per  cent. ;  Bale,  twelve ;  Schaffhausen,  eight ;  Saint- 
Gall,  Outer  Appenzel,  the  Grisons,  and  Glaris  also  received 
some.  Berne  took  charge  of  forty-four  per  cent. ;  part  of  whom 
were  placed  at  Bienne,  Neuville,  and  in  the  district  of  Neuf- 
chatel. 

While  these  victims  of  a  fanatical  policy  rested  under  the 
roof  of  Christian  hospitality,  the  question  of  their  future  resi- 
dence seriously  engaged  their  protectors  in  Germany,  Holland, 
and  Switzerland.*  The  elector  of  Brandenburg  and  several 
German  princes  opened  their  states  to  them.  In  Holland,  they 
spoke  of  facilitating  their  emigration,  in  a  body,  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  or  to  America.  The  echo  of  these  friendly  voices 
brought  their  proposals  to  the  ears  of  the  Vaudois,  and  filled 
their  hearts  with  disquietude.  When,  in  the  preceding  year, 
the  Swiss  deputies  had  proposed  to  them  the  abandonment  of 
their  native  country,  as  the  only  means  of  escaping  still  greater 
evils,  a  numerous  party  among  them  were  energetically  opposed 
to  such  a  step.  They  never  consented,  till,  having  been  prison- 
ers for  months  in  the  fortresses  of  Piedmont,  nothing  remained  to 
them  but  to  apostatize  or  to  emigrate.  Now  that  dungeons,  and 
their  prolonged  absence  from  their  beloved  native  country,  had 
only  increased  their  affection  for  it,  they  felt  intense  agony  at 
the  thought  that  they  should  never  see  it  again,  and  that  they 

*  England,  governed  by  a  popish  prince,  James  II.,  who  was  soon  to  be  driven 
from  the  throne  for  his  attempts  at  religious  oppression,  was  not,  and  could  not 
be  at  that  period,  an  effective  protector  of  the  Vaudois. 


310  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

should  be  compelled  to  renounce  it  forever.  Certainly,  they 
returned  thanks  to  God,  and  blessed  their  brethren,  for  having 
obtained  their  liberty,  for  having  fed  and  consoled  them,  and  for 
offering  them  houses  and  lands  again ;  but  the  places  in  which 
love  to  God  and  Christian  charity  offered  them  an  asylum,  could 
not  occupy  in  their  imagination  the  place  of  their  native  soil.  A 
foreign  land,  however  benevolent  the  inhabitants  might  be  who 
would  consent  to  share  it  with  them,  could  never  be  the  same  to 
them  as  their  own  country,  the  land  of  their  fathers. 

The  desire  of  the  Vaudois  to  return  to  their  native  country, 
though  deeply  cherished  by  them  all,  was  only  by  degrees  formed 
into  a  project,  in  proportion  as  they  believed  in  the  possibility 
of  its  realization.  The  minister  Arnaud,  who,  in  the  sequel,  was 
the  leader  of  the  enterprise,  was  probably  its  originator ;  but,  in 
the  first  account  that  was  given  of  it,  it  was  attributed  to  the 
fervent  zeal  of  the  hero  of  Rora,  the  intrepid  Janavel,  who  had 
retired  to  Geneva,  after  a  capital  sentence  had  menaced  his  life. 
Geneva,  believing  its  honour  engaged  to  the  duke,  banished  him 
from  its  walls ;  but  he  soon  returned  thither. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  Vaudois  to  return  to  the  valleys 
necessarily  failed  at  its  outset,  from  its  being  made  so  much  at 
hazard,  without  precaution,  without  leaders,  and,  we  may  say, 
without  arms.  Those  who  engaged  in  it  came  in  an  irregular 
manner  from  their  cantonments  at  Zurich,  Bale,  Argovie,  and 
N"eufchatel,  to  Lausanne  and  its  environs,  about  the  end  of  July, 
1687,  without  having  taken  any  of  the  preliminary  measures 
necessary  for  such  an  expedition.  Their  numbers,  moreover, 
were  inconsiderable ;  only  about  three  hundred  and  fifty.  Being 
stopped  by  the  chief  magistrate  of  Lausanne  at  Ouchy,  where 
they  attempted  to  embark,  they  submitted,  sorely  against  their 
will,  to  the  order  for  returning  to  the  places  from  whence  they 
came. 

Though  in  this  instance  unable  to  succeed,  the  Vaudois  did 
not  abandon  their  design.  They  perceived  that  it  had  been 
badly  managed ;  that  it  was  necessary  to  mature  a  plan,  to  make 
preparations  for  it,  and  then  to  execute  it  simultaneously  and 
secretly,  under  the  direction  of  their  chiefs.  This  method  they 
actually  pursued.  Their  first  care  was  to  send  three  men  to 
discover  by-roads,  by  which  they  could  return  to  the  valleys. 
It  was  desirable  to  avoid  populous  localities,  to  follow  by  pre- 


OFFER  OF  THE  ELECTOR  OF  BRANDENBURG.   311 

ference  the  higher  valleys  and  the  elevated  ridges,  to  pass  the 
rivers  near  their  sources,  and  then,  reaching  their  destination,  to 
engage  their  friends  secretly  to  prepare  bread,*  and  to  deposit 
it  in  convenient  places.  Such  were  the  principal  directions  and 
instructions  these  persons  received. 

While  the  three  spies  were  fulfilling  their  mission,  at  the  peril 
of  their  lives,  the  cantons,  dissatisfied  with  the  attempt  of  the 
Vaudois,  which  might  have  compromised  them  with  the  duke  of 
Savoy,  continued  the  former  negotiations  with  the  German  prin- 
ces for  the  emigration  of  their  guests,  whose  presence  was  now 
become  inconvenient. 

The  elector  of  Brandenburg,  Frederick  William,  who  was 
called  by  his  contemporaries  the  Great  Elector,  a  prince  whose 
memory  both  the  Vaudois  and  the  French  Protestants  will  bless 
forever,  was  not  content  with  interceding  with  the  duke  of 
Savoy  on  behalf  of  his  oppressed  brother  Protestants ;  he  showed 
himself  ready  to  receive  a  part  of  the  remains  of  their  popula- 
tion, and  wrote  for  subsidies  on  their  behalf  to  the  prince  of 
Orange,  to  the  states-general  of  Holland,  to  the  city  of  Bremen, 
and  to  the  elector  of  Saxony,  as  well  as  to  England.  It  only  re- 
mained to  compute  the  number  of  the  emigrants.  Of  two  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  fifty-six  Vaudois  distributed  among  the 
cantons,  the  elector  consented  to  take  charge  of  about  two  thou- 
sand ;  the  aged  and  the  sick  were  to  remain  in  Switzerland. 
Such  were  the  arrangements  settled  at  Berlin,  in  concert  with 
the  deputy  of  the  cantons,  counsellor  Holzhalb  of  Zurich. 

But  the  Vaudois,  full  of  the  project  of  returning  to  their  native 
land,  showed  little  eagerness  to  accept  the  asylum  which  the  be- 
nevolence of  the  great  elector  offered  them  at  Stendal,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Elbe,  to  the  north  of  Magdeburg.  They  were 
alarmed  at  the  thought  of  being  fixed  at  such  a  distance  from 
their  ancient  country.  The  climate  and  the  language  also  made 
them  hesitate.  The  measures  taken  by  the  evangelical  cantons 
and  the  Vaudois  delegates  had  also  inclined  the  hearts  of  the 
elector  Palatine,  the  count  Waldeck,  and  the  duke  of  Wirtem- 
berg  to  place  lands  capable  of  cultivation  at  the  disposal  of  the 
exiles  of  the  valleys.  But,  although  the  spring  of  1G88  had  now 
arrived,  the  Vaudois  could  not  resolve  to  separate  themselves, 

*  In  the  high  Alps  bread  is  only  made  once  a  year.  It  becomes  as  hard  as  a 
stone,  and  is  kept  like  biscuit. 


312  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

and  to  settle  in  these  distant  colonies.  "  It  seemed  that  these 
unfortunate  people,"  said  Remigius  Merian,  resident  of  the  elec- 
tor of  Brandenburg,  at  Frankfort,  "  changed  their  plans  every 
day,  and  could  decide  on  nothing.  They  were  always  longing 
after  their  own  country  and  people.  They  undervalued  the  fa- 
vours offered  them  by  princes." — Dieterici,  die  Waldenser,  etc. 
p.  145. 

Nevertheless,  being  obliged  by  their  position  to  make  their 
choice,  they  decided  at  last,  that  one  part  of  them,  about  a  thou- 
sand, should  repair  to  Brandenburg,  but  that  the  others  should 
distribute  themselves  in  the  Palatine  and  Wirtemberg,  not  to  be 
too  far  removed  from  the  dominions  of  the  duke  of  Savoy ;  for 
they  had  not  forgotten  their  secret  project. 

The  chamberlain  de  Bondelly  had  arrived  with  a  commission 
to  conduct  the  thousand  Vaudois  to  their  destination.  The  death 
of  his  master,  the  great  elector  Frederic  William,  the  protector 
of  the  persecuted  Protestants,  formed  no  obstacle  to  their  de- 
parture, Frederic  III.,  his  successor,  having  shown  his  readiness 
to  receive  the  inheritance  of  charity  which  his  father  had  be- 
queathed to  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  three  spies  had  returned.*  Their  re- 
port on  the  state  of  the  valleys,  at  that  time  inhabited  by  stran- 
gers, and  on  the  road  to  be  taken  in  returning  thither,  induced 
the  directors  to  hold  a  council,  in  which  it  was  resolved  to  make 
a  second  attempt  through  the  valleys,  the  great  and  little  St.  Ber- 
nard and  Mount  Cenis.  Bex,  a  little  town  at  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  state  of  Berne,f  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  near 
a  bridge  over  the  Rhone,  was  chosen  as  the  place  of  rendezvous. 
The  time  fixed  was  the  9th  or  10th  of  June,  1688. 

At  the  head  of  the  movement  was  a  man,  whose  name  has  re- 
sounded far  and  wide,  and  will  be  transmitted  to  the  most  dis- 
tant posterity, — a  man  fitted  both  for  peace  and  war ;  an  humble 
minister  of  the  Lord,  and  commander  of  an  army ;  copious  and 
eloquent  in  language  enriched  by  the  Holy  Scriptures,  when  he 
applied  himself  to  teach  and  exhort ;  full  of  unction  and  fervour 
when  on  his  knees  he  supplicated  the  Father  of  mercies  for  his 

*  They  had  been  exposed  to  imminent  danger.  They  were  arrested  in  the 
district  of  the  Tarentaise.  Eight  days  they  remained  in  prison,  but  at  last  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  set  at  liberty. 

t  It  now  makes  a  part  of  the  canton  of  Vaud. 


A  SECOND  ATTEMPT  THWARTED.  313 

depressed  Church ;  brief  and  decided  in  tone  when  he  directed 
the  march,  or  gave  orders  in  the  tumult  of  battle :  such  a  man 
was  Arnaud.  A  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Die,  in  Dauphine*, 
Henri  Arnaud,  one  of  the  most  esteemed  pastors  of  the  Vaudois 
Church,  had  withdrawn  himself  at  the  time  of  the  general  dis- 
aster of  1686,  being  too  prudent  and  too  clear-sighted  to  surren- 
der himself  to  the  duke's  troops.*  And  when  the  residue  of  the 
people,  to  whom  he  had  consecrated  his  life,  were  released  from 
prison,  he  joined  them.  He  sojourned  at  Neufchatel  with  a  part 
of  his  people.  His  genius  and  resolute  character  marked  him 
out  to  the  Yaudois,  as  the  man  around  whom  they  ought  to  ga- 
ther, as  the  living  soul  of  their  people, — in  one  word,  as  their 
chief.  It  was  to  him,  in  fact,  that  the  general  confidence  gave 
the  command  of  the  enterprise  for  a  long  time*  projected,  and 
which  was  now  ripe  for  execution. 

The  most  courageous  Vaudois  had  quitted  their  cantonments 
and  traversed  Switzerland  by  night,  through  byroads,  and  repair- 
ed to  Bex,  the  general  rendezvous.  But  however  secret  their 
march,  it  could  not  be  concealed  from  the  senates  of  Zurich  and 
Berne,  nor  from  the  council  of  Geneva,  who  suddenly  were  in- 
formed that  sixty  Vaudois  who  served  in  the  garrison  had  just 
deserted,  and  entered  the  Pays  de  Vaud.  Their  project,  being 
thus  divulged,  was  thwarted.  A  bark  laden  with  arms  did  not 
reach  Villeneuve,  where  they  were  waiting  for  it.  The  chief 
magistrate  of  Aigle,  being  apprized  by  their  excellencies,  was 
obliged  to  conform  to  their  orders  and  stop  the  expedition.  It 
also  met  with  other  insurmountable  obstacles.  The  inhabitants 
of  Valais,  in  agreement  with  the  Savoyards,  having,  on N the  first 
rumour,  occupied  the  bridge  of  St.  Maurice,  the  key  of  the  pass, 
had  both  of  them  by  their  signals  roused  all  Chablais,  and  put 
Valais  on  its  guard.  The  fatal  order  for  stopping  their  march 
was  given  with  all  the  kind  consideration  possible  to  six  or  seven 
hundred  Vaudois,  who  were  then  assembled  in  the  temple  of 
Bex,  by  the  generous  Fr.  Thormann,  magistrate  or  governor  of 
Aigle.  He  addressed  them  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  showing  them 
that  their  project  having  taken  wind,  and  their  adversaries  being 
in  arms,  it  would  be  rash  to  think  of  going  any  farther,  and  that 
their  excellencies  could  not  permit  it  without  laying  themselves 

*  He  was  present  at  the  affairs  of  St.  Germain,  when  two  hundred  Vaudois 
made  so  gallant  a  defence. 

14 


314  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

open  to  the  charge  of  violating  treaties.  He  did  justice  to  their 
zeal ;  and,  in  order  to  incline  their  hearts  to  patience  and  trust 
in  God,  under  their  trials,  he  reminded  them  that  the  Lord,  who 
is  attentive  to  the  desires  of  his  children,  and  holds  the  times  in 
his  own  hand,  knew  well  how  to  bring  about  the  favourable  mo- 
ment. This  sensible  and  friendly  discourse  having  somewhat 
calmed  their  spirits,  their  pastor  and  leader,  Arnaud,  led  them 
to  entire  submission  by  a  sermon  on  the  affecting  words  of  the 
Saviour — "Fear  not, little  flock,"  Luke  xii,  32. 

The  Vaudois  being  conducted  to  Aigle,  and  lodged  with  pri- 
vate individuals,  took  a  grateful  leave  of  this  humane  governor, 
who  lent  them  two  hundred  crowns  to  assist  those  of  them  in  re- 
turning who  lived  in  the  farthest  parts  of  Switzerland.  They 
felt  how  much*thev  were  indebted  to  him,  when  they  saw  them- 
selves repulsed  from  Vevey,  where  they  were  even  refused  pro- 
visions, and  when  they  found  themselves  treated  with  severity, 
all  along  the  road,  by  order  of  the  council  of  Berne,  who  were 
displeased,  as  may  be  easily  imagined,  with  an  expedition  which 
compromised  their  honour,  since  there  were  not  wanting  persons 
at  Turin  to  suspect  them  of  being  accomplices.  This  was  ac- 
tually the  fact ;  but  the  cantons  cleared  themselves  entirely  of 
such  an  imputation. 

As  to  the  persons  engaged  in  this  attempt,  who  were  banished 
for  some  time  to  the  Isle  of  Bienne,  (St.  Pierre,)  they  received 
orders  two  months  afterwards  from  the  assembled  cantons,  to  re- 
sume their  route  to  the  north  of  Switzerland,  Zurich,  and  Schaff- 
hausen,  and  to  accept,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  many  con- 
tinued to  show,  the  charitable  offers  of  the  German  princes. 
More  than  eight  hundred  persons,  men,  women,  and  children, 
embarked  on  the  Rhine,  to  be  conveyed  to  the  electorate  of 
Brandenburg.  And  while  the  French  commandant  de  Brissac 
fired  at  their  boats,  Frederic  III.  prepared  to  give  them  a  cordial 
reception.  A  separate  part  of  the  town  of  Stendal  was  given 
them  for  a  residence ;  they  were  amply  supplied  with  all  the 
comforts  of  life.  They  were  allowed  to  have,  not  only  their  own 
pastor  and  schoolmaster,  but  also  their  own  municipal  magistrates 
and  judges.  Eight  hundred  Vaudois  were  to  till  and  sow  the 
rich  lands  of  the  Palatinate,  which  the  elector,  Philip  William  of 
Neuburg,  had  put  at  their  disposal.  Seven  hundred  were  set- 
tled in  Wirtemberg.     A  few  hundreds  remained  in  Switzerland, 


MANY  RETURN  TO  SWITZERLAND.  315 

particularly  in  the  Grisons.  Arnaud,  after  having  superintended 
this  distribution,  which  he  could  not  but  deplore,  set  out,  in  com- 
pany with  a  Vaudois  captain,  (Baptiste  Besson,  of  San  Giovanni,) 
for  Holland,  to  consult  respecting  his  secret  project  with  prince 
William  of  Orange,  who  was  more  conversant  than  any  other 
man  with  public  affairs  and  the  politics  of  Europe.  This  prince, 
who  in  the  following  year  ascended  the  throne  of  England  in  the 
place  of  the  papist  James  II.,  encouraged  the  persevering  Ar- 
naud, and  led  him  to  hope  that  circumstances  would  be  very 
favourable  to  his  enterprise.  He  advised  him,  meanwhile,  to 
keep  the  Vaudois  as  much  united  as  possible. 

In  fact,  scarcely  had  a  few  months  passed  away,  when  the 
situation  of  political  affairs  favoured  the  accomplishment  of 
Arnaud's  project.  War  broke  out,  Germany  was  invaded  in  the 
autumn  of  1688,  and  the  French  army  overran  the  Palatinate. 
The  Vaudois  who  were  there,  dreading  these  Frenchmen  who 
had  done  so  much  mischief  in  their  valleys,  retired  before  them, 
and  retook  the  road  to  Switzerland.  A  part  of  those  in  Wirtem- 
berg  did  the  same.  The  evangelical  cantons,  affected  by  their 
new  sufferings,  gave  them  a  kind  reception ;  Schaffhausen,  par- 
ticularly, where  they  obtained  a  temporary  settlement.  They 
were  soon  distributed  in  their  ancient  allotments,  even  in  dis- 
tricts where  the  French  language  was  spoken ;  as  at  Neuville 
and  Neufchatel.  The  intervention  of  Holland  was  perhaps  not 
useless,  in  these  times,  for  the  poor  exiles,  tossed  about  by  poli- 
tical storms,  at  a  distance  from  their  native  land.  M.  de  Con- 
venant,  deputed  by  the  states  general,  requested  the  cantons,  at 
the  beginning  of  1689,  to  continue  their  protection  to  the  Vau- 
dois till  his  Britannic  majesty,  William  of  Orange,*  could  pro- 
vide for  their  settlement  in  his  new  dominions.  Thus  protected, 
the  children  of  the  valleys  waited  for  the  important  hour  of  their 
departure,  gaining  an  honest  livelihood  with  their  own  hands, 
chiefly  among  the  peasantry.  Everywhere  justice  was  done  to 
their  activity  and  probity.  The  only  misdemeanour  of  which 
any  one  of  them  was  accused,  was  the  carrying  off  a  musket ; 
and  this,  after  some  time,  was  restored. 

The  dawn  of  their  deliverance,  so  impatiently  longed  for,  at 
last  appeared  on  the  political  horizon,  inviting  the  Vaudois  to 

*  The  prince  of  Orange  landed  in  England  in  November,  1688,  and  was  crowned 
April  11,  1689. 


316  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

depart  and  to  re-enter  their  own  country  in  arms.  Savoy  was 
stripped  of  troops ;  Victor  Amadeus  having  withdrawn  them  to 
Piedmont,  where  he  needed  them.  France,  attacked  by  the 
emperor  and  by  the  Dutch,  to  whom  England,  now  governed  by 
William  III.,  would  soon  be  joined,  having  itself  to  defend,  could 
furnish  no  succour  to  the  duke  of  Savoy  against  the  Vaudois, 
who,  when  once  more  intrenched  in  their  mountains,  would 
know  how  to  defend  themselves,  till  their  powerful  protectors 
could  obtain- an  honourable  capitulation  for  them. 

Feeling  secure  on  the  side  of  their  adversaries,  the  Vaudois 
needed  only  to  be  on  their  guard  against  their  friends,  whose 
political  relations  constrained  them  to  put  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  their  departure.  The  undertaking  was  certainly  difficult ; 
but  if  secrecy  could  be  preserved,  it  was  not  impossible.  The 
experience  of  two  abortive  attempts  had  taught  silence  and  ex- 
traordinary prudence.  Yet  some  suspicions  were  excited  at 
Berne,  and  orders  were  given  to  the  chief  magistrates  at  Chillon 
and  Aigle,  at  Nyon,  and  some  other  places,  in  case  the  Vaudois 
should  attempt  a  passage,  as  in  the  preceding  year.  Berne  also 
caused  Arnaud,  who  was  residing  at  Neufchatel  with  his  wife,  to 
be  watched.  This  enterprising  leader,  however,  took  his  pre- 
cautions so  well,  made  his  preparations  with  so  much  ability,  and 
gave  his  orders  with  such  precision,  that  in  spite  of  the  watch- 
fulness of  the  authorities,  he  perfectly  succeeded. 

The  place  of  rendezvous  appointed  for  the  scattered  Vaudois 
was  a  forest  of  considerable  size,  called  the  wood  of  Prangins, 
situated  on  the  borders  of  the  lake  Leman,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
little  town  of  Nyon,  on  the  confines  of  the  Bernese  territory.* 
The  extent  of  the  forest,  its  isolated  position  along  the  banks 
facing  the  Savoyard  coast,  from  which  it  was  not  above  a  league 
distant,  rendered  it  preferable  to  every  other  point.  The  time 
fixed  for  the  gathering  was  equally  well  chosen.  They  took 
advantage  of  the  solemnity  of  a  general  fast,  which,  keeping  the 
population  in  the  temples  and  the  interior  of  the  villages,  pre- 
vented them  from  noticing  the  armed  travellers,  and  rendered 
it  very  difficult  to  call  out  the  militia  of  the  country,  in  case  the 
authorities  wished  to  oppose  either  the  gathering  or  the  em- 
barkation. 

The  movement  of  several  hundreds  of  armed  men  could  not 
*  This  district  now  forms  part  of  the  canton  of  Vaud. 


THE  WOOD  OF  PRANGINS.  31*7 

be  concealed  so  entirely  that  the  magistrates  should  receive  no 
notice  of  it ;  but  the  care  taken  by  the  bands  to  conceal  their 
march  into  the  wood,  and  particularly  their  staying  on  the  dis- 
tant lands  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  Morges  till  the  decisive 
moment,  the  evening  of  the  16th  of  August,  when  they  entered 
unperceived  into  the  bailiwick  of  Nyon  and  the  wood  of  Pran- 
gins,  at  a  time  when  they  were  supposed  to  be  far  off,  as  the 
distance  was  thought  to  be  too  great  for  their  arrival  there ;  by 
such  precautions  the  measures  were  thwarted,  which  the  magis- 
trates had  hastened  to  take.  All  sources  of  apprehension  were 
not  yet  removed.  Scarcely  had  the  principal  brigades  reached 
the  wood  of  Nyon  in  the  evening,  when  they  saw  persons  land- 
ing from  a  multitude  of  boats,  whose  curiosity  had  brought  them 
there,  to  ascertain  if  the  reports  in  circulation  were  well  founded. 
This  circumstance,  which  might  have  been  fatal  to  them,  and 
obliged  them  to  embark  much  sooner  than  they  had  expected, 
before  all  their  own  people  had  arrived,  turned  out  very  ad- 
vantageously for  them,  by  putting  at  their  disposal  means  of 
transport  which  they  would  otherwise  have  been  without 

It  was  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  in  the  evening  of  the 
16th  of  August,  1689,  the  day  after  the  fast,  that  Henri  Arnaud 
gave  the  signal  for  their  departure,  by  falling  on  his  knees  on 
the  margin  of  the  lake,  and  invoking,  in  a  loud  voice,  the  all- 
good  and  all-powerful  God,  who,  in  their  distresses,  had  remained 
their  safeguard  and  their  hope.  Fifteen  boats  unmoored,  laden 
with  the  greater  part  of  the  little  army.  A  gust  of  wind,  which 
for  a  short  time  dispersed  some  of  them,  brought  them  within 
sight  of  a  Geneva  boat  that  contained  eighteen  of  their  people. 
No  sooner  had  they  reached  the  opposite  shore  than  the  trans- 
ports pushed  off  again,  in  quest  of  those  who  might  be  waiting 
for  them ;  but  of  the  fifteen  boats,  three  only  reached  the  wood 
of  Prangins  in  the  night,  and  brought  over  a  fresh  detachment 
to  the  Savoy  side.*  The  others  disappeared.  By  this  mishap, 
two  hundred  men  remained  on  the  Swiss  side.  It  may  be  pre- 
sumed that  they  were  not  the  most  ardent  to  engage  in  the 

*  One  of  the  boatmen  of  Nyon,  named  Signat,  a  native  of  Tonneins,  in  Guienne, 
a  man  zealous  for  religion,  and  a  refugee,  was  left  on  the  Savoy  side  by  the  other 
boatmen,  while  he  was  taking  leave  of  his  friends  from  the  valleys.  In  vain  he 
ran  to  the  shore,  calling  after  his  comrades,  who  went  off  with  his  boat.  "  Come 
with  us,"  said  his  new  friends,  "  and  we  will  give  you  a  good  house  in  lieu  of 
your  little  boat."    He  accordingly  set  out  with  them. 


318  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

struggle.  Many  of  them  were  not  even  armed.  Aruaud  also 
regretted  the  loss  of  a  score  of  men,  who  reached  Morges  too 
late,  where  they  were  stopped,  and  prevented  from  joining  him. 
All  these  men,  however,  regained  their  asylum  in  the  cantons ; 
but  the  loss  most  lamented  was  that  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
brave  men  coming  from  the  Grisons,  St.  Gall,  and  Wirtemberg. 
They  were  arrested  in  the  small  popish  cantons,  by  the  desire 
of  the  Count  de  Govon,  the  resident  of  the  duke  of  Savoy,  who 
had  got  tidings  of  their  setting  out,  and  they  were  sent  to  the 
prisons  of  Turin,  where  they  remained  till  the  peace. 

Nine  hundred  men  had  effected  the  passage  of  the  lake — a 
small  company  to  attempt  making  their  way  through  an  un- 
friendly population,  and  thousands  of  soldiers  intrenched  behind 
streams  of  water,  or  in  fortified  positions ;  a  company,  on  the 
other  hand,  far  too  numerous  for  the  slender  means  of  sustenance 
to  be  found  in  the  by-places  through  which  they  intended  to  go ; 
an  untrained  assemblage,  formed  of  persons  of  every  age,  harden- 
ed, it  is  true,  by  toil,  but  yet  strangers  to  military  discipline  and 
manoeuvres. 

Between  Nernier  and  Yvoire,  two  towns  of  the  Chablais, 
facing  the  wood  of  Prangins,  Arnaud,  the  leader,  landed  from 
his  frail  bark  with  fourteen  companions,  and  his  first  care  was  to 
place  sentinels  at  all  the  avenues,  and  to  marshal  his  troops  as 
they  disembarked.  He  then  divided  his  nine  hundred  men  into 
twenty  companies,  six  of  which  were  composed  of  the  French 
of  Dauphine",  adjoining  the  valleys,  and  of  Languedoc ;  thirteen 
others  were  of  different  Vaudois  communes ;  and  the  last  of 
volunteers,  who  were  not  willing  to  make  a  part  of  the  preceding. 
They  formed  three  bodies,  an  advanced  guard,  a  centre,  and  a 
rear-guard,  according  to  the  tactics  of  regular  troops,  which  were 
always  observed  by  the  Vaudois  in  their  marches.  Two  min- 
isters, beside  Arnaud,  were  with  the  little  army— Cyrus  Chyon, 
formerly  pastor  of  Pont-a-Royans,  in  Dauphind,  and  Montoux, 
of  the  valley  of  Pragela.  The  first,  Chyon,  was  soon  separated 
from  the  expedition.  Having  repaired  with  too  much  confidence 
to  the  first  village,  to  obtain  a  guide,  he  was  taken  prisoner  and 
led  to  Chambe'ry,  where  he  remained  till  the  peace. 

The  army,  once  organized,  and  in  a  condition  to  defend  them- 
selves if  the  enemy  appeared,  bent  their  knees  before  the  Lord, 
on  whom  the  success  of  their  enterprise  depended,  and  ardently 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  ARMY.  319 

invoked  his  all-powerful  aid.  They  then  took  a  southward 
direction,  in  order  to  pass  over  the  little  mountain  range  that 
separates  Chablais  from  Faucigny  ; — Yvoire,  being  threatened, 
opened  its  gates  and  gave  them  a  free  passage.  The  villages 
through  which  they  passed  never  dreamed  of  making  resistance. 
Some  gentry,  as  well  as  subaltern  magistrates,  whose  persons 
they  secured  as  hostages,  were  obliged  to  follow,  and  served  as 
guides,  till  they  were  replaced  by  others.  Nevertheless,  they 
performed  these  coercive  measures  with  so  much  address,  and 
the  discipline  of  the  army  was  so  strict,  that  the  apprehensions 
at  first  felt  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  open  country  soon  subsided, 
and  the  peasants  with  their  ministers  might  be  seen  approaching 
and  quietly  watching  the  troops  as  they  filed  off*,  and  even 
saluting  them  by  saying,  May  God  go  with  you  !  The  parish 
minister  of  Filly  opened  his  cellar,  and  supplied  them  with  re- 
freshment, without  receiving  any  remuneration.  But  very  soon, 
while  ascending  the  mountain  by  the  path  which  leads  to  Boege 
on  the  Menoge,  in  Faucigny,  the  encounter  they  had  with  the 
gentry,  whom,  notwithstanding  their  threatening  tone,  they  made 
prisoners,  and  then  with  two  hundred  armed  peasants,  under  the 
command  of  the  governor  of  Boege  and  a  quarter-master,  whose 
resistance  was  next  to  nothing,  showed  them  nevertheless  the 
necessity  of  being  beforehand  with  the  inhabitants.  They  per- 
ceived that  if  arms  were  generally  taken  up,  the  expedition 
would  be  exposed  to  great  danger.  They  therefore  employed 
a  slight  stratagem :  they  made  one  of  the  gentry  who  were  kept 
as  hostages  write  the  following  letter  from  Boege :  "  These  per- 
sons have  arrived  here  to  the  number  of  two  thousand ;  they 
have  requested  us  to  accompany  them,  that  we  may  be  able  to 
give  an  account  of  their  conduct,  and  to  assure  you  that  it  has 
been  perfectly  regular ;  they  pay  for  everything  they  take,  and 
all  they  ask  is  a  free  passage.  We  beg  you,  therefore,  not  to 
sound  the  tocsin,  or  to  beat  the  drum,  and  to  withdraw  your 
people  in  case  they  should  be  under  arms."  This  letter,  signed 
by  all  the  gentry  and  sent  to  the  town  of  Viu,  in  Faucigny, 
where  they  arrived  at  nightfall,  had  a  very  good  effect;  and  on 
their  march  they  met  with  no  more  resistance ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  found  the  people  eager  to  furnish  whatever  they  asked  for, 
even  to  saddle-horses  and  wagons.  A  similar  letter  sent  to  St. 
Joyre  prepared  a  good  reception  for  the  weary  travellers.     But, 


320  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

to  gain  time,  they  pushed  on.  It  was  only  at  midnight  that  they 
stopped  in  an  open  field  and  rested  a  little,  notwithstanding  the 
rain. 

The  next  day  did  not  pass  quite  so  peaceably.  Cluse,  a  walled 
city,  obstructed  the  narrow  passage  between  the  mountain  to  the 
north,  and  the  impetuous  Arve  on  the  south.  The  inhabitants 
in  arms  lined  the  trenches;  the  mountaineers  ran  together, 
shouting  out  abuse.  The  firmness  of  the  Vaudois,  who  resolved 
to  force  a  passage,  and  the  intervention  of  the  hostages,  who 
trembled  for  their  own  safety,  led  to  a  capitulation.  The  gates 
were  opened,  and  provisions  were  sold.  The  little  army  con- 
tinued its  march  southward,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Arve,  at 
the  foot  of  contiguous  mountains,  from  whose  declivities  they 
might  have  been  crushed,  by  rolling  down  fragments  of  rock, 
and  reached  by  way  of  Maglan  the  great  bridge  of  St.  Martin, 
facing  Salenches.  While  still  at  a  great  distance  they  had  seen 
on  the  other  side  a  horseman  riding  at  full  speed,  and  concluded 
that  he  was  going  to  give  the  alarm  in  the  town,  the  chief  place 
in  Faucigny.  Having  advanced  within  a  hundred  paces  of  a 
great  wooden  bridge,  flanked  by  many  houses,  and  easily  de- 
fended, the  Vaudois  halted  and  formed  in  close  columns  for  the 
attack.  But,  faithful  to  their  rule,  never  to  seize  by  force  what 
they  could  obtain  willingly,  they  requested  a  passage  over  the 
bridge  and  through  the  city.  The  town-council,  avoiding  giving 
a  precise  answer,  gained  time,  and  collected  six  hundred  men. 
At  the  sight  of  the  latter,  the  Vaudois  knew  what  they  had  to 
do,  and,  in  an  instant,  they  had  crossed  the  bridge,  and  set  them- 
selves in  order  of  battle.  Their  antagonists  retreated  behind 
the  hedges,  without  firing ;  our  warriors  of  two  days  old  left  them 
in  peace  in  their  turn,  then  resumed  their  march,  and,  quitting 
the  valley  of  the  Arve  to  plunge  into  a  defile  which  opened  to 
the  south  of  Salenches,  passed  the  night  at  Cablau,  where  they 
wanted  a  sufficient  supply  of  provisions,  and  could  scarcely  dry 
their  garments,  soaked  with  the  rain  that  had  been  falling  in- 
cessantly since  the  preceding  evening.  Nevertheless,  these  poor 
people  blessed  God  that  they  had  so  far  marched  successfully, 
without  fighting  or  loss  of  men,  over  bridges  and  through  defiles 
where  a  few  courageous  defenders  could  have  done  them  irre- 
parable injury,  and  that  he  had  granted  them  a  peaceful  night 
after  so  much  fatigue  and  anxiety. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THEIR  SITUATION.  321 

Kest  was  very  necessary  for  them ;  for  they  were  about  to  face 
physical  difficulties  of  which  the  prospect  might  have  shaken  the 
courage  of  persons  quite  unfatigued  and  free  from  anxiety ;  how 
much  more  men  who  for  a  number  of  days  and  nights  had 
known  no  rest  or  sleep  but  what  they  could  enjoy  during  their 
brief  halts,  exposed  to  the  injuries  of  the  atmosphere,  and  for  the 
last  eighteen  hours  to  rain — not  to  mention  the  mental  dis- 
quietude which  scarcely  allowed  them  to  close  their  eyes? 
They  were  arrived  at  the  spot,  where  the  Alps  to  the  west  of 
Mont-Blanc  change  their  direction  all  at  once  by  an  obtuse 
angle,  and  instead  of  stretching  westward  descend  in  a  zigzag 
to  the  south.  Numerous  valleys  are  spread  out  at  their  base, 
separated  from  one  another  by  lateral  branches  of  the  principal 
chain.  To  the  summit  of  these  lateral  branches  it  was  necessary 
for  our  nine  hundred  travellers  to  ascend  from  the  bottom  of  the 
valleys,  in  order  to  descend  again  into  the  opposite  valley.  This 
fatiguing  labour  was  to  be  their  daily  task  for  eight  days,  one  ex- 
cepted. Often  they  could  scarcely  find  anything  to  maintain  them 
excepting  milk  and  cheese,  and  the  frozen  water  of  the  mountains. 
The  rain  frequently  beat  upon  their  backs,  bent  with  fatigue,  and 
their  suffering  feet  slipped  many  times  in  a  day  upon  the  snows 
and  in  the  stony  ravines.  We  shall  not  recount  their  sufferings 
in  detail ;  they  would  fatigue  the  reader.  Let  it  suffice  to  give 
a  general  idea,  by  this  description  of  the  route  they  followed. 

From  Cablau,  in  the  mountains  to  the  south  of  Salenche,  the 
little  army  ascended  to  the  valley  of  Megeve,  at  the  foot  of 
Mont-Joli,  which  bounds  it  to  the  east,  and  separates  it  from 
that  of  Mont-Joie  or  Bonnant,  and  after  having  passed  the  first 
defile,  where  they  refreshed  themselves  in  the  herdsmen's  huts, 
they  descended  into  the  valley  of  Haute-Luce,  to  ascend  imme- 
diately on  the  left,  to  the  east,  a  precipitous  mountain,  whose 
aspect  inspired  horror,  but  which  must  unavoidably  be  crossed 
by  whoever  would  enter  the  valley  of  Bonnant,  to  pass  next 
through  the  defile  of  Bonhomme,  as  was  the  design  of  our  tra- 
vellers. At  the  sight  of  this  awful  mountain,  the  courage  of 
many  failed.  In  various  places,  the  road  was  hewn  out  of  the 
rock :  they  were  obliged  to  ascend  and  descend  as  if  by  a  ladder 
suspended  over  the  precipices.  "  Arnaud,"  says  the  author  of 
the  "  Glorieuse  Rentree,"  ("Glorious  Return,")  "the  zealous 
and  renowned  leader  of  this  little  flock,  restored,  by  his  holvand 
14* 


S22  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

excellent  exhortations,  the  courage  of  those  who  followed  him. 
But  this  was  not  all ;  the  descent  was  still  more  painful  and 
dangerous  than  the  ascent.  To  effect  it,  it  was  necessary  almost 
always  to  sit  and  slide  down  precipitously,  without  any  other 
light  than  the  reflection  of  the  snows  and  glaciers  of  Mont-Blanc, 
which  rose  before  them.  It  was  not  till  late  at  night  that  they 
reached  the  shepherds'  huts,  in  a  place  deep  as  an  abyss,  barren 
and  cold,  where  they  could  not  make  a  fire  except  by  unroofing 
the  hovels  to  take  the  wood,  which  in  return  exposed  them  to 
the  rain,  which  lasted  all  night.  So  many  hardships  determined 
Captain  Chien,  belonging  to  one  of  the  six  French  companies, 
to  desert,  taking  a  horse  along  with  him.  He  was  of  a  delicate 
constitution. 

On  the  fourth  day  the  little  army  passed  through  the  defile 
of  Bonhomme,  which  separates  the  province  of  Faucigny  from 
that  of  Tarentaise,  the  basin  of  the  Arve  from  that  of  the  Isere. 
They  ascended  the  mountain  up  to  their  knees  in  snow,  while  a 
heavy  rain  was  falling.  They  had  not  been  without  fear  of 
having  their  passage  disputed,  for  they  knew  that  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  at  the  report  of  their  first  attempts,  fortifications 
and  intrenchmenis  had  been  constructed  in  these  places  with 
embrasures  and  coverings,  in  a  position  so  advantageous  that 
thirty  persons  would  have  sufficed,  our  friends  said  when  they 
saw  them,  to  stop  their  passage  and  destroy  them.  They  praised 
God  most  heartily  that  all  these  works  had  been  abandoned.  From 
the  heights  of  Bonhomme  they  descended  into  the  valley  of  the 
Versoi,  where  their  resolute  appearance  overawed  the  peasantry, 
who  had  assembled  by  the  command  of  their  lord  to  oppose  their 
passage.  In  the  evening  they  reached  Sey  on  the  Isere,  and 
meeting  there  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  provisions,  they  en- 
camped not  far  from  the  town.  The  fifth  day,  spent  in  going 
up  the  Isere,  had  nothing  remarkable,  unless,  perhaps,  the  ex- 
cessive earnestness  with  which  some  gentlemen  of  Sainte-Foi 
wished  to  detain  and  lodge  them ;  a  politeness  which  rendered 
them  suspected,  and  procured  them  the  advantage  of  travelling 
in  company  with  the  other  hostages.  The  number  of  these  per- 
sons was  now  very  considerable  ;  but  their  lot  was  not  so  melan- 
choly as  to  prevent  their  repeating,  with  good-humour,  their 
accustomed  saying  when  they  saw  some  person  of  consequence 
coming  towards  them,  "  Here  is  another  handsome  bird  for  our 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THEIR  SITUATION.  323 

cage !"  This  evening,  for  the  first  time  in  eight  days  and  eight 
nights,  Arnaud  and  Montoux,  his  colleague,  were  lodged,  supped, 
and  rested  in  peace  three  hours. 

On  the  following  day  they  ascended  Mount  Iseran,  from 
which  the  Isere  takes  its  rise.  Some  shepherds  who  had  regaled 
them  with  milk  on  these  mountains,  covered  with  cattle,  warned 
them  that  on  the  other  side  of  Mount  Cenis  some  regular  troops 
were  waiting  for  them,  determined  to  oppose  them.  This  news, 
far  from  alarming  them,  inflamed  their  courage ;  for,  knowing 
that  the  issue  of  battles  depends  on  God,  for  whose  glory  they 
had  taken  arms,  they  doubted  not  that  he  would  open  a  passage 
for  them,  whoever  might  attempt  to  close  it. 

Having  reached  Maurienne  in  the  evening,  the  little  army  on 
the  seventh  day  ascended  Mount  Cenis,  where  they  seized  all 
the  post-horses,  so  that  the  news  of  their  coming  could  not  be 
transmitted  very  rapidly.  A  small  division  also  laid  hands  on 
some  mules  laden  with  the  baggage  of  the  pope's  nuncio  in  France, 
cardinal  Ange  Ranuzzi,  who  was  returning  to  Italy;  but  the 
muleteers  having  complained  to  the  officers,  they  caused  all  the 
booty  to  be  restored.  Only  a  watch  could  not  be  recovered.* 
Having  ended  this  affair,  the  army  took  the  route  of  the  little 
Mount  Cenis,  leaving  the  most  frequented  road  to  the  left,  and 
descended  into  the  valley  of  Jaillon,  having  wandered  out  of  the 
way  in  a  mist  and  over  the  snow  with  which  the  earth  was  covered. 
Many  passed  the  night  wretchedly  in  the  woods.  The  main  body 
had  no  advantage  over  them,  except  that  of  warming  and  drying 
themselves  round  some  fires. 

When  on  the  eighth  day,  leaving  the  valley  of  Jaillon,  the 
Vaudois  wished  to  press  on  to  Chaumont,  where  they  hoped  to 
pass  the  Doire,  (Doria  Riparia,)  one  league  above  Suza,  and  for 
this  purpose  were  seeking  for  an  outlet  from  the  narrow  valley 
in  which  they  had  passed  the  night,  they  found  the  enemy  in 
possession  of  the  heights.  A  part  of  the  French  garrison  of  Ex- 
illes,  and  a  great  number  of  peasants,  occupied  an  advantageous 
post  which  commanded  the  path  along  which  they  must  go. 
Captain  Pelenc,  who  was  sent  to  treat  with  them,  having  been 

*  The  prelate's  correspondence  was  also  missing.  It  seems  that  it  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  king  of  France,  which  sorely  displeased  and  vexed  the  cardinal, 
as  he  felt  himself  committed  by  it.  But  the  Vaudois  always  asserted  their  en- 
tire ignorance  of  the  affair. 


324  HISTORY  OF  THE  VATJDOIS. 

kept  prisoner,  the  advanced  guard,  a  hundred  strong,  set  forward, 
but  being  immediately  repulsed  by  a  shower  of  balls,  grenades, 
and  stones,  they  forded  the  Jaillon,  and  defiled  on  the  right  bank, 
protected  by  a  grove  of  chestnut-trees.  Yet  the  examination  of 
the  places  inspiring  some  fears  as  to  ultimate  success,  they  de- 
cided on  regaining  the  heights  they  had  descended.  This  last 
resolution  filled  the  hostages  with  despair,  worn  out  as  they  were 
•with  fatigue.  "  Rather  put  us  to  death,"  they  cried.  Many  of 
them  were  left  behind.  The  Vaudois  themselves  did  not  ac- 
complish it  without  great  difficulty.  Forty  men  lost  their  way ; 
among  others,  the  French  captains  Lucas  and  Privat,  who  were 
never  heard  of  again ;  besides  two  good  surgeons,  Jean  Malanot, 
taken  by  the  Piedmontese,*  and  then  conducted  to  the  prison  at 
Turin,  and  Jean  Muston,  taken  by  the  French,  and  sent  to  the 
galleys,  where  he  ended  his  days.  As  they  re-ascended  the  de- 
file of  Clairee,  the  trumpets  were  sounded  for  a  long  time  in  or- 
der to  collect  the  wanderers,  and  to  indicate  to  all  the  right  di- 
rection: They  even  waited  full  two  hours,  and  then,  being  press- 
ed for  time,  resumed  their  route,  although  a  considerable  number 
were  missing. 

From  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  where  the  little  army  had 
avoided  an  encounter  with  two  hundred  soldiers  of  the  French 
garrison  of  Exilles,  they  proceeded  through  the  defile  of  Touille, 
to  the  west,  against  Oulx,  situated  also  in  the  valley  of  the  Doire, 
but  several  leagues  above  Suza.  Arnaud's  intention  was  to  pass 
the  river  at  the  bridge  of  Salabertrand,  between  Exilles  and 
Oulx.  The  night  had  already  overtaken  them  while  they  were 
still  on  the  mountain.  Near  a  village,  a  league  from  the  bridge 
they  hoped  to  force,  a  peasant,  whom  they  asked  whether  they 
could  get  any  provisions  by  paying  for  them,  replied  very  coolly, 
"  Come  on,  they  will  give  you  all  you  want,  and  are  preparing 
you  an  excellent  supper !"  These  words,  from  the  tone  in  which 
they  were  uttered,  seemed  rather  threatening.  But  there  was 
now  no  time  to  hesitate.  After  taking  refreshment  in  the  village, 
they  renewed  their  march,  and  half  a  league  from  the  bridge 
they  saw  before  them  about  six-and-thirty  fires,  an  indication  of 

*  It  appears  that  the  Piedmontese  cavalry  of  the  count  de  Verrue,  who  occu- 
pied Suza,  was  also  in  the  field ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  troops  were  French. 
Each  nation  guarded  its  own  prisoners.— See  Histoire  Militaire,  (Military  His- 
tory,) by  the  count  of  Saluzzo,  t.  v,  pp.  6,  7. 


DEFEAT  AN  ARMED  FORCE  AT  3ALABERTRAND.  325 

rather  a  large  encampment ;  a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards  the 
vanguard  came  upon  an  advanced  post. 

Every  one  perceiving  that  the  critical  hour  on  which  the  suc- 
cess or  ruin  of  the  expedition  depended  was  come,  listened  to 
the  prayer  with  deep  attention ;  then,  under  favour  of  the  night, 
they  advanced  to  the  bridge.  To  the  cry  of  "Who's  there?" 
they  answered,  "  Friends," — a  suspicious  answer,  to  which  the 
enemy's  only  reply  was,  "  Kill !  kill !"  accompanied  with  a  tremen- 
dous fire  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  which  however  did  no  harm, 
Arnaud  having  at  the  first  shot  ordered  the  men  to  fall  on  the 
ground.  But  a  division  of  the  enemy  who  had  followed  the  Vau- 
dois  having  taken  them  in  the  rear,  they  found  themselves  placed 
between  two  fires.  In  this  critical  moment,  some  of  them,  feel- 
ing that  they  must  risk  everything,  shouted,  "  Courage !  the 
bridge  is  won !"  At  these  words  the  Yaudois,  rushing  forwards 
headlong,  sword  in  hand,  and  with  fixed  bayonets,  on  the  passage 
marked  out  for  their  valour,  carried  it,  and  vigorously  attacking 
the  intrenchments,  forced  them  at  once.  They  pursued  their 
enemies  so  closely  as  to  seize  them  by  the  hair.  The  victory  was 
so  complete  that  the  marquis  de  Larrey,  who  commanded  the 
French,  and  was  himself  wounded  in  the  arm,  exclaimed,  "  Is  it 
possible  that  I  have  lost  the  battle  and  my  honour  ?" 

In  fact,  two  thousand  five  hundred  soldiers,  firmly  intrenched, 
that  is,  fifteen  companies  of  regular  troops  and  eleven  of  militia, 
without  reckoning  the  peasantry  and  the  troops  that  attacked 
the  Vaudois  in  the  rear,  were  defeated  by  eight  hundred  men, 
worn  out  with  fatigue,  as  well  as  novices  in  the  art  of  war.  The 
Vaudois  had  only  ten  or  twelve  wounded,  and  fourteen  or  fifteen 
killed.  The  French  acknowledged  a  loss  of  twelve  captains,  be- 
sides many  other  officers,  and  about  six  hundred  soldiers.  This 
combat  was  advantageous  for  the  hostages,  who,  almost  all,  availed 
themselves  of  it  to  make  their  escape.  Of  thirty-nine  there  re- 
mained only  six  of  the  most  aged. 

The  moon  had  risen,  the  enemy  had  disappeared.  The  Vau- 
dois provided  themselves  with  military  stores  and  other  booty. 
They  longed  to  take  some  repose ;  but  prudence  dictated  their 
departure,  for  which  Arnaud  gave  orders.  Having  thrown  into 
the  Doire  a  part  of  what  they  could  not  carry  away,  they  col- 
lected what  powder  remained,  and,  on  going  away,  set  what  they 
left  on  fire.    To  the  tremendous  explosion  that  followed,  and  re- 


326  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

sounded  to  a  distance  among  the  mountains,  was  added  the  sound 
of  the  Vaudois  trumpets  and  the  acclamations  of  the  conquerors, 
who  threw  their  caps  in  the  air  as  a  sign  of  gladness,  and  exclaim- 
ed, "  Thanks  be  to  the  Lord  of  hosts,  who  hath  given  us  the  vic- 
tory over  all  our  enemies." 

But  if  the  joy  were  great,  so  also  was  the  fatigue :  to  such  a 
degree,  indeed,  that  the  greater  part  were  overpowered  with 
sleep ;  and  yet  it  was  necessary  to  advance,  and,  if  possible,  as- 
cend the  mountain  of  Sci,  which  separated  them  from  Pragela, 
that  they  might  not  be  surprised  the  next  morning  by  all  the 
forces  which  the  enemy  had  in  the  valley  of  the  Doire.  But, 
with  all  the  care  of  the  rear-guard  to  arouse  the  sleepers  and 
make  them  march,  twenty-four  remained  behind  and  were  taken 
prisoners — a  loss  which,  added  to  the  forty  that  missed  their  way 
in  the  ravines  of  Jaillon,  deeply  affected  the  army,  otherwise  so 
elated  with  their  great  success. 

The  next  day,  the  ninth  since  they  set  out,  was  a  Sunday. 
The  dawn  appeared  as  they  reached  the  summit  of  Sci ;  and 
when  they  were  all  assembled,  Arnaud,  with  a  full  heart,  pointed 
out  to  them  in  the  distance  the  tops  of  their  mountains.  A  sin- 
gle valley  only  separated  them — that  of  Pragela  or  Clusone,  well 
known  of  yore,  peopled  throughout  with  Vaudois  from  time  im- 
memorial, who  had  long  been  united  to  those  of  Piedmont  by 
alliances,  by  a  similar  ecclesiastical  organization,  and  by  a  com- 
mon synod.  It  was  long  ago  a  place  of  refuge  for  them  in  the 
persecution  of  1G55.  It  would  still  have  been  so  if  his  most 
Christian  majesty  had  not  caused  all  the  evangelicals  to  disappear, 
some  years  since,  either  by  emigration  or  abjuration.  It  was  not 
in  a  temple  of  any  one  of  those  once  evangelical  villages  that  our 
travellers  were  able  to  return  thanks  to  God  for  the  numerous 
proofs  of  his  infinite  compassion  ;  it  was  on  the  solitary  Sci,  under 
the  vault  of  the  heavens,  encircled  by  a  vast  horizon  of  moun- 
tains, lighted  up  by  the  dazzling  rays  of  the  rising  sun.  On  this 
spot  the  conductor  of  this  little  band,  Arnaud,  on  his  knees  like 
all  around  him,  humbled  himself  with  them  before  the  Eternal, 
adoring  and  blessing  him  for  their  deliverances.  All,  after  having 
confessed  their  sins,  looked  up  with  confidence  to  God,  the  Au- 
thor of  their  salvation,  and  rose  filled  with  fresh  courage.  Some 
hours  after,  they  passed  the  Clusone,  rested  at  La  Traverse,  and 
slept  at  the  village  of  Jaussaud,  at  the  foot  of  the  defile  of  Pis. 


THEY  ENTER  BALSILLE.  327 

The  tenth  day  was  spent  by  our  travellers  in  the  defiles  of  the 
mountains  which  unite  the  valley  of  Pragela  with  that  of  San 
Martino.  A  detachment  of  Piedmontese  soldiers,  which  guarded 
the  pass  of  Pis,  took  flight  at  the  sight  of  our  intrepid  band.  The 
latter,  constrained  by  their  privations  to  provide  for  the  wants 
of  the  present  moment  as  well  as  those  of  the  future,  felt  autho- 
rized to  capture  a  flock  of  six  hundred  sheep,  which  were  feed- 
ing on  their  route ;  they  restored,  however,  a  small  number  for 
some  money.  The  rest,  slaughtered  the  next  day  and  eaten  with- 
out bread,  furnished  an  acceptable  repast. 

On  Tuesday,  the  27th  of  August,  1689,  the  valiant  troops  who 
had  crossed  the  lake  of  Geneva  eleven  days  before,  and  sur- 
mounted immense  obstacles  with  self-denying  constancy,  set  foot 
in  the  first  Vaudois  village,  Balsille,  at  the  north-west  extremity 
of  the  valley  of  San  Martino.  Solemn  moment !  uniting  the 
pleasant  and  painful  recollections  of  the  past  with  the  fears  and 
disquietudes  of  the  future.  Everything  reminded  them  of  happy 
days  that  were  no  more,  but  which  might  possibly  be  renewed. 
But,  whatever  might  be  the  issue  of  their  bold  enterprise,  every- 
thing announced  to  them  that,  for  a  long  time  yet,  privations 
and  a  deadly  struggle  awaited  them.  They  knew  it,  and  were 
prepared  for  it.  The  repulse  at  the  Jaillon,  the  glorious  affair 
at  the  bridge  of  Salabertrand,  and  the  effects  of  exhaustion  and 
drowsiness  at  the  ascent  of  Sci,  had  deprived  them  of  almost  a 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  Many  who  were  wounded  in  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Doire  had  remained  behind  on  the  French  territory ; 
traitors,  and  minute  search,  had  delivered  them  up  to  the  royal 
vengeance.  Lastly,  desertion  had  taken  from  the  army,  during 
the  last  night,  twenty  of  their  defenders,  probably  Frenchmen 
of  Pragela,  or  of  Dauphine,  whom  the  vicinity  of  their  native 
country  detached  from  the  common  enterprise.  Our  heroic 
mountaineers  were  thus  reduced  to  about  seven  hundred,  while 
severe  conflicts  with  thousands  of  disciplined  soldiers  awaited 
them. 

The  little  army,  for  greater  security,  and  that  it  might  better 
explore  the  country,  divided  itself  into  two  bodies,  of  which  one 
passed  by  the  mountain  to  Rodoret,  and  the  other  to  Fontaine 
by  the  base  of  the  valley.  They  nowhere  met  with  soldiers,  but 
only  some  Savoyards,  new  inhabitants,  whom  they  captured. 
On  reaching  the  hamlet  of  Guigou  they  were  rejoiced  to  find 


328  HISTORY  OF  THE  VATJDOIS. 

the  temple  of  Prals  still  standing.  They  pulled  down  the  orna- 
ments placed  in  it  by  superstition.  Then  the  seven  hundred 
warriors,  laying  down  their  arms,  and  crowding  to  the  inside 
and  before  the  porch,  sang  the  seventy-fourth  Psalm,  which  be- 
gins thus : — 

"  O  God,  why  hast  thou  cast  us  off  forever  ? 
Why  doth  thine  anger  smoke  against  the  sheep  of  thy  pasture  V  etc. 

They  also  sang  the  hundred  and  twenty-ninth  Psalm : — 

"  Many  a  time  have  they  afflicted  me  from  my  youth,  may  Israel  now  say : 
Many  a  time  have  they  afflicted  me  from  my  youth : 
Yet  they  have  not  prevailed  against  me,"  etc. 

In  order  to  be  heard  by  those  within  as  well  as  those  without, 
Arnaud  stood  upon  a  bench  placed  in  the  doorway,  and  took 
for  his  text  some  verses  of  this  latter  Psalm. 

At  the  sight  of  this  temple,  on  hearing  these  sacred  songs,  and 
listening  to  the  preaching  of  this  servant  of  God  surrounded  with 
dangers,  many  were  reminded  of  the  last  pastor  who  had 
preached  in  these  places — the  blessed  Leydet,  surprised  by  the 
papists  as  he  sang  psalms  under  a  rock,  and  who  died  a  martyr 
in  1686,  confessing  the  name  of  the  Saviour.  Everything  here, 
past  and  present,  united  to  fill  the  assembly  with  deep  emotion, 
and  to  make  them  seek  from  on  high  the  help  of  which  they  felt 
the  need. 

Being  assured  that  the  upper  villages  of  the  valley  of  San 
Martino,  thinly  inhabited  by  a  small  number  of  papists,  were 
stripped  of  troops,  these  conquerors  of  their  native  soil  hastened 
to  pass  into  the  valley  of  Lucerna  by  the  pass  of  Giulian,  which 
they  found  occupied  by  two  hundred  soldiers  of  the  guards.  To 
force  their  intrenchments,  and  put  them  to  flight,  was  the  work 
of  an  instant.  This  action  only  cost  the  life  of  a  single  Vaudois. 
The  fugitives  lost  their  ammunition,  provision,  and  baggage, — 
an  agreeable  booty  for  the  conquerors,  who  also  slew  about 
thirty-one  men  in  the  pursuit.  The  little  army,  rushing  down 
from  the  mountains  into  the  large  valley  of  Lucerna,  took  Bob- 
bio,  which  lies  at  the  bottom,  by  surprise,  and  drove  away  the 
new  inhabitants.  Then  passing  for  a  day  from  the  fatigues  of 
marching  and  conflict  to  more  peaceful  scenes,  they  transformed 
themselves  either  into  a  religious  assembly,  and  listened  with 
earnestness  to  the  exhortations  of  one  of  their  pastors,  M.  Mon- 


DEFEATED  AT  VILLARO.  329 

toux,  or  into  a  national  council,  deliberating  on  their  interests, 
and  imposing  laws  on  themselves,  the  guarantee  of  order  and 
justice.  An  oath  of  union  and  fidelity  to  the  common  cause, 
their  re-establishment  in  the  heritage  of  their  fathers,  with  the 
practice  of  their  holy  religion,  was  taken,  as  in  the  sight  of  the 
living  God,  by  the  pastors,  captains,  and  other  officers,  towards 
all  the  privates,  and  by  the  latter  towards  the  former.  They 
also  swore  to  consider  the  booty  as  common  property,  to  rever- 
ence the  name  of  God,  and  to  labour  to  recover  their  brethren 
from  the  thraldom  of  cruel  Babylon.  Four  treasurers  and  two 
secretaries  were  chosen  to  take  charge  of  the  booty,  and  a  ma- 
jor* and  an  adjutant  appointed  over  the  companies. 

The  large  town  of  Villaro,  in  the  midst  of  the  valley  of  Lu- 
cerna,  was  attacked  as  Bobbio  had  been ;  and  at  first  the  enemy 
fled,  some  to  the  valley  of  Guichard,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Pelice,  others  to  the  convent,  where  they  were  closely  pressed. 
But  a  considerable  reinforcement  of  regular  troops  having  come 
to  their  succour,  the  Vaudois  were  forced  to  retreat  upon  Bob- 
bio, and  eighty  of  them  could  only  escape  by  dispersing  them- 
selves over  the  Vaudalin,  the  limit  of  the  Alps  of  Angrogna, 
and  then  rejoining  each  other  at  a  distance  from  the  main  body. 
Montoux,  the  second  pastor,  being  separated  from  his  people 
under  similar  circumstances,  was  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  and 
sent  to  prison  at  Turin,  where  he  remained  till  the  peace.  Ar- 
naud  three  times  gave  himself  up  for  lost,  three  times  he  prayed 
with  six  of  his  men,  and  three  times  God  averted  the  fatal  blow. 
At  last,  this  chief,  whose  life  was  so  precious,  gained  the  ridge 
on  which  eighty  of  his  men  had  halted. 

This  defeat  occasioned  a  change  in  their  tactics.  The  first 
eight  days  of  their  return,  the  Vaudois,  acting  on  the  offensive, 
had  successively  beaten  every  corps  of  the  enemy  they  had 
met  on  their  march.  Henceforward  they  attacked  more  rarely, 
and  then  only  convoys,  advanced  posts,  or  detached  columns. 
Being  reduced  to  act  on  the  defensive,  they  intrenched  them- 
selves in  mountainous  retreats  of  difficult  access,  in  natural 
fortresses  that  might  be  easily  defended,  while  their  detachments 
scoured  the  country  to  obtain  provisions.  It  was  on  the  declivi- 
ties of  their  mountains,  in  the  centre  of  their  verdant  pastures, 
once  covered  with  their  flocks,  but  now  solitary,  that  they  sold 
*  Captain  Odin.    Arnaud  was  commander-in-chief. 


330  HISTOEY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

their  lives  dearly.  Decided,  at  least,  to  die  in  their  heritage,  on 
their  widowed  and  desolate  soil,  they  would  not  lay  down  their 
arms  except  with  their  last  groan,  or  for  peace,  if  their  prince 
offered  them  an  honourable  one. 

Abandoning,  therefore,  the  hope  of  keeping  their  ground  in 
their  ancient  villages  of  the  rich  valleys  of  Lucerna,  renouncing 
even  the  possession  of  Villaro  and  Bobbio,  the  Vaudois  retreated 
to  the  heights  of  this  last  district,  to  the  granges  of  the  Serre-de 
Cruel,  a  locality  naturally  fortified,  whither  they  carried  their 
sick  and  wounded.  The  eighty  men  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
the  Alps  of  Angrogna,  having  received  a  reinforcement,  formed 
an  active  brigade,  always  on  the  alert,  making  incursions  on  the 
hamlets  and  villages  of  this  glen,  and  engaging  in  several 
skirmishes :  amongst  others,  one  near  la  Vachere  and  Mount 
Cervin.  In  this  last,  they  made  head  against  six  hundred  men, 
killed  a  hundred  of  them,  and  lost  themselves  only  four.  But 
they  suffered  great  privations.  Often  they  had  nothing  to  eat 
but  wild  fruits.  Twenty-nine  men  returned  one  evening  with 
no  food  but  a  few  nuts,  with  which  they  were  forced  to  content 
themselves.  A  detachment  which  rejoined  the  flying  camp  be- 
fore the  combat  we  have  just  mentioned,  had  passed  two  days 
without  anything  to  eat ;  yet  they  could  not  give  each  one  a 
piece  of  bread  to  revive  him  larger  than  the  palm  of  the  hand. 
On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  all  these  refugees,  in  the  rocks 
near  a  small  hamlet  called  Turin,  thought  themselves  well  off 
with  a  supper  of  raw  cabbages,  which  they  did  not  dare  to  cook 
for  fear  of  being  discovered.  The  next  day,  at  Crouzet,  also  in 
the  valley  of  San  Martino,  they  had  nothing  to  appease  their 
hunger  and  recruit  their  strength  but  a  soup  made  with  cab- 
bages, peas,  and  leeks,  without  salt,  fat,  or  any  seasoning,  which, 
nevertheless,  they  swallowed  very  eagerly. 

However,  the  little  army  here  and  there  got  hold  of  some 
better  provisions,  which  they  partly  kept  in  reserve  and  partly 
used.  Being  stationed  at  Prali  for  two  days,  they  cut  down  all 
the  wheat  they  could  find,  and  hastened  to  have  it  ground  at  the 
mills  in  that  place.  In  the  midst  of  these  conflicts  and  labours, 
religious  duties  were  not  neglected.  Arnaud  administered  the 
holy  supper  to  the  troops  who  accompanied  him.  He  also  visited 
the  district  of  Bobbio,  to  attend  to  the  same  sacred  ordinance 
with  the  Yaudois  who  lived  there. 


DESERTION  AND  DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  TUREL.   381 

The  little  army  was  left  in  possession  of  the  valley  of  San 
Martino  by  the  retreat  of  the  Piedmontese  troops  of  the  Marquis 
de  Parelle,  who,  at  his  departure,  had  burned  le  Perrier. 
Taking  advantage  of  this,  the  Vaudois  proceeded  to  get  in  all 
the  standing  corn,  thresh,  and  transport  it  to  the  retired  village 
of  Rodoret,  where  they  established  their  magazine.  It  was  also 
the  vintage  season  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  valley,  as  well  as 
the  time  for  gathering  walnuts,  apples,  and  chestnuts.*  The 
flying  camp,  always  vigilant  and  active,  captured  some  large 
convoys  of  provisions  and  wine ;  so  that,  if  no  misfortune  hap- 
pened, the  future,  as  far  as  regarded  the  means  of  subsistence, 
was  by  no  means  to  be  dreaded. 

The  general  satisfaction  was  disturbed  at  the  moment  by  the 
desertion  of  Captain  Turel,  a  Frenchman,  who,  although  brave 
and  estimable,  gave  up  the  hope  of  final  success,  and  persuaded 
four  of  his  friends  to  go  off  with  him.  The  unfortunate  man 
only  escaped  the  privations  he  dreaded,  to  endure  a  horrible 
punishment.  Having  been  seized  at  Embrun,  he  was  broken  on 
the  wheel  alive,  at  Gronoble,  among  twelve  wretched  beings,  of 
whom  six  were  hung  on  his  right  and  six  on  his  left. 

In  the  autumn,  numerous  battalions  appeared  in  the  valleys, 
both  Piedmontese  and  French ;  the  former  under  the  command 
of  the  Marquis  de  Parelle,  lieutenant-general,  the  latter  under 
that  of  M.  de  POmbraille.  Their  troops  covered  all  the  villages 
and  all  the  passes,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  scattered  hamlets 
and  by-ways.  The  vale  of  Roderet,  being  attacked  in  the  middle 
of  October  by  a  troop  of  the  enemy,  had  been  found  untenable. 
Desertion  had  begun  again  among  the  French  refugees.  Neither 
the  fear  of  perishing  miserably  like  Turel,  nor  nobler  feelings, 
could  detain  Captain  Fonfrede,  with  his  lieutenant  and  twenty 
soldiers,  who  escaped  to  Pragela,  where  they  were  soon  arrested, 
and  then  hung.  The  situation  of  the  Vaudois  army  was  cer- 
tainly most  critical,  pursued  as  it  was,  incessantly,  by  a  force 
twenty  times  its  superior. 

Accordingly,  on  the  2 2d  of  October,  two  thousand  French 

having  passed  from  Pragela  into  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  and 

pitched  their  camp  at  Champ-la-Salse,  the  small  remnant  of  the 

Vaudois  held  a  council  at  night-fall,  at  Rodoret,  as  to  what  step 

*  Chestnuts  make  an  important  part  of  the  winter  provisions  in  the  valleys 
of  Piedmont. 


332  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

it  would  be  most  proper  to  take.  It  was  evident  that,  in  the 
presence  of  so  many  enemies,  this  post,  after  a  while,  would  be 
untenable.  But  whither  were  they  to  retreat  ?  Some  advised 
the  mountains  of  Bobbio ;  others  suggested  following  the  steps 
of  the  valiant  Captain  Buffa,  to  the  heights  of  Angrogna.  Al- 
though the  latter  proposal  seemed  to  be  most  generally  accept- 
able, the  partisans  of  the  former  were  unwilling  to  accede  to  it. 
Division  crept  in  among  the  chiefs:  things  seemed  tending  to 
certain  ruin.  At  this  critical  moment,  the  pious  Arnaud  pro- 
posed that  they  should  join  in  prayer  to  God,  and  without  wait- 
ing for  their  reply,  he  invoked  Him  who  is  the  Author  of  wisdom, 
prudence,  and  union ;  then,  after  having  seriously  and  warmly 
exhorted  his  companions  to  sacrifice  their  particular  views  to 
the  judgment  of  others,  he  advised  the  adoption  of  a  third  plan, 
that  of  retreating  to  Balsille ;  a  proposition  which  gained  all  their 
suffrages  so  completely,  that  the  same  night,  two  hours  before 
day,  they  were  on  their  march  thither.  Wishing  to  avoid  meet- 
ing their  enemies,  they  passed  through  places  so  dangerous  that 
it  was  often  necessary  to  use  both  hands  and  feet,  to  keep  their 
footing.*  The  general  attention  was  so  much  occupied  at  such 
seasons  that  the  hostages  escaped,  after  having  bribed  their 
guards. 

It  was  on  a  rock  near  Balsille  that  the  Vaudois  posted  them- 
selves, with  a  firm  resolution  of  waiting  steadily  for  their  enemies 
without  wearying  themselves,  as  they  had  so  often  done,  with 
running  from  mountain  to  mountain.  To  maintain  their  position, 
they  began  to  form  intrenchments,  made  covered  ways,  ditches, 
and  walls,  and  dug  more  than  fourscore  cabins  in  the  earth,  sur- 
rounding them  with  channels  to  carry  off  the  water.  After  the 
morning  prayer,f  those  who  were  appointed  went  to  labour  at 
the  fortifications.  The  intrenchments  consisted  of  cuttings  one 
above  another.  They  made  as  many  as  seventeen  where  the 
ground  was  the  least  inclined,  and  disposed  them  in  such  a  man- 

*"He  who  has  not  seen  these  places,"  Arnaud  exclaims,  "cannot  well  im- 
agine the  dangers  ;  and  he  who  has  seen  them  will  no  doubt  consider  this  march 
as  a  fiction  and  a  romance,  but  it  is  nevertheless  pure  truth ;  and  it  may  be 
added,  that  when  the  Vaudois  saw  them  again  by  day,  as  happened  many  times 
afterwards,  their  hair  stood  on  end,"  etc.— (V.  Glorieuse  Rentree.) 

t  Arnaud  preached  twice  a  week,  once  on  Sunday,  and  again  on  Thursday. 
Every  day,  morning  and  evening,  he  also  assembled  his  companions  for  prayer, 
in  which  they  joined  on  their  knees,  and  with  their  faces  on  the  ground. 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  FRENCH  AT  BALSILLE.    333 

ner  that  when  necessary  they  could  retreat  from  one  within  the 
other,  so  that  if  the  besiegers  carried  the  first,  the  second  re- 
mained ;  then  the  third,  and  so  on,  till  they  reached  the  summit 
of  the  rock.  A  little  fort  was  also  constructed  on  a  rock  higher 
up,  but  contiguous,  though  separated  itself  from  the  mountain 
towards  the  top  by  a  rent,  where  they  made  a  triple  intrench- 
ment.  Lastly,  on  a  lofty  ridge,  commanding  the  works,  as  well 
as  the  valley,  they  left  a  constant  watch,  to  give  notice  of  the 
least  movement  of  the  enemy. 

The  Vaudois  had  not  commenced  these  labours  more  than 
three  or  four  days  when  the  French  battalions,  who,  not  having 
met  with  them  at  Rodoret,  could  only  lay  hands  on  their  abun- 
dant stock  of  provisions,  penetrated  into  the  valley,  coming  from 
Prali,  besides  some  other  troops  of  the  same  nation,  commanded 
by  M.  de  l'Ombraille.  In  a  short  time,  the  Vaudois*  saw  them- 
selves enclosed  on  all  sides ;  their  advanced  post  at  Passet,  which 
covered  the  entrance  of  Balsille,  was  at  the  same  time  captured 
by  a  stratagem,  though  without  any  loss  on  their  part,  and  on 
the  29th  of  October  the  enemy  advanced  to  attack  the  castle. 
For  this  purpose  they  filled  the  woods,  with  which  the  mountain 
on  which  Balsille  rests  is  covered,  with  detachments,  which 
blockaded  them  from  Friday  to  Sunday  evening,  and  which 
suffered  extremely,  the  snow  falling  incessantly.  A  hot  skirmish, 
in  which  they  lost  at  the  passage  of  the  bridge  sixty  men  killed, 
and  as  many  wounded,  at  last  proved  to  them  the  impossibility 
of  forcing  a  position  so  well  intrenched  and  defended.  All  their 
summonses  to  surrender  had  been  rejected.  The  Vaudois  had 
not  lost  a  single  man. 

In  the  course  of  November,  as  a  part  of  the  French  troops 
had  already  retired  much  discouraged,  de  l'Ombraille  having 
learned,  by  the  report  of  an  apostate  who  had  visited  Balsille, 
that  the  mill  of  Macel  was  often  employed  by  the  men  of  the 
castle,  sent  five  hundred  soldiers  thither,  who,  after  all,  captured 
only  one  man,  and  killed  two.  These  were  French  refugees. 
The  survivor,  who  had  only  gone  out,  the  day  he  was  taken,  to 
nurse  his  two  sick  friends,  and  to  bring  them  back  to  the  castle, 
had  to  carry  their  heads  to  la  Perouse  to  head-quarters.  His 
edifying  discourses  so  much  interested  the  judge  of  the  place, 
although  a  Roman  Catholic,  that  he  endeavoured  to  obtain  his 
pardon  from  the  inflexible  Ombraille,  but  in  vain.     His  con- 


334  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

stancy  in  the  profession  of  his  faith,  his  calmness  in  ascending 
the  fatal  ladder,*  produced  a  powerful  impression  on  the  people 
of  Pragela,  the  witnesses  of  his  execution,  and  who  had  for  the 
most  part  changed  their  religion,  from  timidity. 

Whether  the  season  was  too  far  advanced,  or  the  position  of 
Balsille  appeared  too  strong  to  be  carried  by  the  means  they 
had  at  their  disposal,  their  enemies  abandoned  the  upper  glens, 
burning  almost  all  the  houses,  granges,  and  corn-stacks,  carrying 
away  or  destroying  the  stores  of  wheat  and  other  eatables,  and 
calling  out  to  the  Vaudois  to  have  patience  and  wait  for  them 
till  Easter.  Having  retired  into  better  cantonments,  they  had 
their  advanced  posts  at  Maneille  and  Perrier. 

Owing  to  this  withdrawal  of  their  enemies,  the  Vaudois  felt 
perfectly  free  in  their  movements.  The  first  months  of  their  re- 
turn to  tbeir  native  land  had  been  spent,  it  is  true,  in  privation 
and  suffering,  in  the  midst  of  daily  conflicts ;  but  at  least  they, 
the  ancient  proprietors  of  the  soil,  had  remained  masters  of  it. 
God,  who  had  protected  them  at  the  time  of  their  first  danger,  and 
who  had  brought  them  to  that  inclement  season  of  the  year  in 
which  no  one  would  venture  to  attack  them  in  their  mountains, 
could  not  he  still  deliver  them  in  days  to  come  V  They  were  there- 
fore, if  not  happy,  yet  thankful,  and  inspired  with  hope.  Deser- 
tion rather  than  death  had  a  little  thinned  their  ranks :  their  num- 
bers, however,  in  the  valley  of  San  Martino,  still  amounted  to  four 
hundred,  without  reckoning  the  little  division  which  had  fixed 
itself  on  the  mountains  of  Angrogna,  and  one  or  two  little  bands 
in  the  wilds  of  the  glens  and  rocks. 

One  thing  made  them  anxious ;  their  means  of  sustenance. 
Where  could  they  be  found?  The  enemy,  besides  destroying 
everything  they  could  when  they  retired,  had  closed  against  them 
all  the  avenues  to  inhabited  places.  A  gracious  Providence  had 
provided  for  their  need,  by  covering  with  snow  the  fields  of  rye, 
ripened  in  September,  but  which  the  papist  cultivators,  in  their 
flight,  had  not  reaped,  and  which  they  themselves  had  cut  only 
in  part,  in  order  to  withdraw  them  from  the  notice  and  devasta- 
tion of  the  soldiers.  Remaining  untouched  under  this  protective 
covering,  they  furnished  a  wholesome  and  abundant  nutriment 
to  the  recluses  of  Balsille,  who  reaped  them  during  the  winter. 

*  He  was  hung  at  the  castle  of  Bois,  in  Pragela.  from  which  it  is  supposed 
that  he  belonged  to  that  district. 


SUFFERINGS.  335 

Moreover,  strong  detachments,  making  sudden  incursions  into  the 
valleys  of  Pragela  and  Queyras,  brought  in  salt,  butter,  wine, 
and  other  provisions.  From  these  various  sources  their  subsist- 
ence was  secured. 

Those  most  to  be  lamented  among  the  Vaudois  were  they  whom 
the  course  of  war,  or  some  imprudence,  had  placed  at  a  distance 
from  their  brethren.  The  following  fact  will  show  what  they 
suffered.  A  band  of  twelve,  who  had  concealed  themselves  in 
a  cave  or  isolated  grotto,  behind  L'Essart,  in  the  district  of  Bob- 
bio,  were  constrained  by  hunger  to  come  out  and  procure  pro- 
visions. On  returning  to  their  asylum,  they  thought  that  the 
traces  of  their  footsteps  in  the  snow  might  be  perceived,  and  de- 
cided on  seeking  for  a  new  one  in  La  Biava  difficult  of  access. 
Scarcely  had  they  set  out  when  they  saw  behind  them  a  troop 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  peasants,  who  in  less  than  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  would  have  surprised  and  surrounded  them ;  there- 
fore, throwing  away  their  little  baggage  immediately,  they  made 
haste  and  reached  a  ridge  above,  from  which  they  fired  so  ac- 
curately on  the  assailants,  that,  of  the  first  fifteen  shots,  thirteen 
took  effect ;  and  when  the  peasants  asked  for  a  parley,  and  an 
honourable  retreat  on  both  sides  was  agreed  upon,  they  acknow- 
ledged twelve  dead  and  thirteen  wounded  :  not  one  of  the  twelve 
Vaudois  was  hurt.  Their  victory,  nevertheless,  did  not  relieve 
them  from  trouble  for  more  than  a  day,  or  even  a  shorter  time ; 
for  on  returning,  towards  evening,  through  the  by-paths  to  La 
Biava,  they  were  every  moment  exposed  to  destruction  among 
the  precipices  under  their  feet.  The  situation  of  their  new  re- 
fuge left  nothing  to  be  desired  in  point  of  security.  They  might 
have  passed  months  there  without  being  pursued ;  but  after  two 
days  they  were  driven  from  it  by  .the  intensity  of  the  cold.  Ac- 
cordingly they  again  descended  into  less  savage  parts,  to  seek 
for  a  milder  climate,  or  a  better  abode,  in  the  midst  of  new  dan- 
gers. Saddened  by  suffering,  but  animated  with  stern  resolu- 
tion, they  were  proceeding  on  their  way,  when  they  met  an  armed 
band.  In  a  moment  they  retreated  behind  a  house,  and  their 
fire  killed  one  man,  an  enemy,  as  they  supposed;  when,  to  their 
great  grief,  mingled  with  lively  joy,  they  recognized  the  party 
to  be  composed  of  their  Vaudois  brethren.  With  tears  in  their 
eyes  they  ran  to  meet  them.  They  went  on  together  through  the 
pass  Giulian,  and  at  last  found,  in  the  castle  of  Balsille,  the  rest, 


336  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

protection,  subsistence,  and  security  which  the  twelve  fugitives 
had  almost  despaired  of. 

The  winter  passed  peaceably  at  Balsille  in  the  work  of  erect- 
ing defences,  in  laying  in  a  stock  of  provisions,  and  in  anticipa- 
tions of  the  future,  regulated  by  the  confidence  in  God  which  the 
pious  Arnaud  sought  to  cherish  in  all,  by  his  firm  bearing,  his 
conversation,  and  the  exercises  of  worship.  The  monotony  of 
their  life  was  interrupted  only  by  the  friendly  visits  and  mes- 
sages of  relations,  or  of  officers  in  the  duke's  service.  All  these 
proceedings  tended  to  the  same  end, — intimidation.  The  desire 
was,  to  induce  the  Vaudois  to  arrange  for  a  final  withdrawal  from 
their  native  soil.  For  this  purpose  it  was  sought  to  excite  their 
fears,  by  confidential  communications  respecting  the  lot  that  await- 
ed them.  A  numerous  army  would  surround  and  destroy  them 
in  the  spring :  if  they  were  wise,  they  would  accept  terms  while 
they  could  be  granted.  They  were  conjured  not  to  risk  any 
longer  the  cause  of  their  relations  who  were  detained  in  the  pri- 
sons, nor  the  interests  of  those  who,  having  become  papists,  dwelt 
in  their  ancient  villages;  and  were  implored  also  to  think  of 
their  wives  and  children  whom  they  had  left  in  Switzerland,  and 
who  would  be  deprived  of  their  natural  protectors  by  their  incon- 
ceivable and  imprudent  pertinacity. 

As  the  Vaudois  could  not  make  an  unconditional  submission, 
and  the  hour  was  not  yet  come  in  which  the  prince  would  ac- 
knowledge the  justice  of  their  cause,  the  negotiations  were  in- 
terrupted after  some  conferences,  and  led  to  no  result. 

When  the  snows  had  begun  to  melt  in  the  upper  valleys,  and 
the  roads  underneath  the  mountains  might  be  considered  as  pas- 
sable, French  troops  might  be  seen  directing  their  march  towards 
Balsille,  at  the  bottom  of  the  valleys  of  San  Martino  and  of  Pra- 
gela,  through  the  pass  of  Clapier  and  that  of  Pis.  Those  who 
made  their  way  through  this  latter  passage  remained  two  days 
on  the  mountain,  in  the  snow,  and  without  fire,  for  fear  of  being 
discovered.  The  soldiers  were  obliged  to  crowd  closely  together, 
in  order  to  keep  themselves  warm  while  they  were  waiting  for 
orders  to  renew  their  march  and  invest  the  place. 

We  have  described  the  position  of  the  castle,  and  the  artificial 
means  of  defence  which  were  added  to  those  afforded  by  nature. 
Yet  there  was  one  more  which  we  have  not  yet  mentioned,  be- 
cause it  was  formed  during  the  winter.     Access  to  the  place  not 


ATTACK  OJ}'  JiALrfiLLE.  337 

being  possible  with  any  chance  of  success  for  the  assailants,  ex- 
cept on  the  side  of  a  stream  which  ran  at  the  foot  of  the  castle, 
where  the  ground  is  not  so  steep,  Arnaud  had  fortified  this  part 
with  special  care.  He  had  planted  strong  palisades  and  raised 
small  parapets,  with  trees  disposed  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
arms  and  boughs  were  towards  the  enemy,  and  the  trunks  and 
roots  towards  the  Vaudois ;  and  to  make  them  firm  they  were 
covered  with  large  stones,  so  that  it  was  not  easier  to  move  them 
than  to  scale  them. 

The  distinguished  De  Catinat,  lieutenant-general  of  the  armies 
of  France,  commanded  the  troops  assembled  around  Balsille, 
amounting  to  twenty-two  thousand  men ;  namely,  ten  thousand 
French,  and  twelve  thousand  Piedmontese :  too  large  a  body, 
certainly,  to  make  the  assault,  but  of  whom  two-thirds  were  to 
be  employed  in  investing  the  place  and  guarding  all  the  passages, 
in  order  to  make  prisoners  of  the  five  hundred  men  who  were 
besieged,  if  they  should  attempt  to  escape.  Catinat,  in  haste 
to  go  elsewhere,  hoped  to  accomplish  the  affair  in  one  day. 

The  firing  began  on  Monday  morning,  May  1,  1690.  The 
dragoons,  who  were  encamped  in  a  wood  on  the  left  of  the  castle, 
crossed  the  river,  and  placed  themselves  in  ambush  all  along  its 
bank,  under  a  shower  of  balls,  and  with  great  loss  of  men.  Some 
hundreds  of  the  duke's  soldiers  remained  without  stirring  from 
their  first  position.  The  major  part  of  the  enemy's  forces  ap- 
proached the  ruins  of  Balsille  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  rock,  but 
they  quickly  retreated,  leaving  many  dead  on  the  spot,  and  carry- 
ing away  a  number  of  wounded.  An  engineer  having  observed 
the  approaches  to  the  chateau  with  a  spy-glass,  and  noticing,  as 
he  thought,  that  the  weakest  part  was  on  the.  right,  a  picked 
corps  of  the  regiment  of  Artois,  five  hundred  strong,  was  despatch- 
ed thither  for  the  assault.  Seven  hundred  peasants  followed,  to 
pull  down  the  palisades  and  the  parapets.  On  the  signal  being 
given,  and  amidst  the  general  firing  of  seven  thousand  soldiers 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  the  picked  battalion  rushed  forward 
to  the  intrenchment  marked  out  with  unparalleled  ardour.  They 
thought  that  they  should  only  have  to  clear  away  the  boughs 
that  were  heaped  together,  in  order  to  have  an  open  path ;  but 
they  soon  perceived  that  the  trees  were  immovable,  and,  as  it 
were,  driven  into  the  soil  by  the  mass  of  stones  that  were  heaped 
upon  them.     The  Vaudois,  seeing  that  they  could  not  accomplish 

15 


338  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

their  object,  and  were  advanced  very  near,  opened  such  a  vigor- 
ous fire,  the  young  men  loading  the  muskets  which  the  more 
experienced  discharged  with  a  sure  aim,  that,  though  the  snow 
was  falling  and  wetted  their  powder,  the  ranks  of  the  assailants 
were  evidently  thinned ;  and  when  confusion  began  to  spread 
among  the  victims  of  the  assault,  the  Vaudois  made  a  fierce  sally, 
pursuing  and  cutting  in  pieces  the  remains  of  these  picked  troops, 
of  which  not  above  ten  or  a  dozen  escaped,  with  the  loss  of  their 
hats  and  weapons.  Their  commander,  De  Parat,  being  wounded 
in  the  thigh  and  arm,  and  having  been  found  among  the  rocks, 
was  made  prisoner  with  two  sergeants,  who  remaine'd  faithfully 
by  his  side  to  take  care  of  him.  Strange  to  say,  the  Vaudois 
had  not  one  either  killed  or  wounded !  The  enemy  retreated  in 
consternation  the  same  evening ;  the  French  to  Macel,  the  Pied- 
montese,  who  had  remained  quiet  spectators  of  the  engagement, 
to  Champ-la-Salse.  Three  days  after,  the  enemy  passed  into 
the  French  territory  (the  vale  of  Pragela)  to  recruit  themselves, 
firmly  resolved  to  return  and  avenge  such  an  affront,  and  to  die 
rather  than  abandon  their  enterprise.  The  same  day  Arnaud 
delivered  a  very  powerful  discourse,  and  was  himself  so  deeply 
affected  that  neither  the  flock  nor  their  pastor  could  refrain  from 
tears. 

On  stripping  the  dead  bodies,  charms  were  found  upon  them, 
or  supposed  preservatives  against  the  attacks  of  the  evil  one  and 
death ;  precautions  that  were  judged  indispensable  by  men  who 
had  been  taught  to  believe  that  the  barbets  had  dealings  with  the 
devil* 

Catinat,  deeply  mortified  by  the  check  he  had  received,  made 
all  the  necessary  preparations  for  taking  signal  vengeance  ;  but 
he  did  not  judge  it  expedient  to  risk  a  second  time  his  own  per- 
son, and  his  hopes  of  a  French  marshal's  baton ;  he  therefore 
left  the  execution  of  the  enterprise  to  the  king's  ambassador  at 
the  court  of  Savoy,  the  Marquis  dc  Feuquieres. 

*  Most  of  these  charms  or  amulets  were  printed.  The  following  is  a  specimen : 
"  Ecce  crutcem  Domini  nostri  Jesu  Christi,  fugite  partes  adversae  ;  vici  leo  de 
tribu  Juda,  radix  David,  Allel.  Allel.,  ex  S.  Anton.  De  Pad.,  homo  natus  est  in 
ea;  Jesus,  Maria,  Franciscus,  sint  mihi  salus."  i.e.  "Behold  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  flee,  ye  adversaries  !  I,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the 
Root  of  David,  have  conquered.  Alleluia,  Alleluia.  From  Saint  Anthony  of 
Padua,  a  man  who  was  born  in  it ;  Jesus,  Maria,  Franciscus,  may  they  be  my 
salvation." 


SIEGE  OF  BALSILLE.  339 

On  Saturday,  the  10th  of  May,  the  advanced  guard  gave 
notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  Immediately  the  outposts 
were  abandoned,  and  all  fell  back  into  the  castle.  They  gave 
up  with  regret  the  exercises  of  preparation  for  the  holy  supper, 
of  which  they  had  intended  to  partake  the  next  day,  being  Whit- 
sunday. The  same  evening,  the  enemy  encamped  close  at 
hand ;  this  time  there  were  only  twelve  thousand  soldiers,  and 
fourteen  hundred  peasants.  Having  been  formed  into  five  divi- 
sions, they  completely  surrounded  the  place.  Dispensing  with 
the  tactics  of  a  siege,  they  approached  the  castle  within  musket- 
shot,  intrenching  themselves  behind  some  good  parapets;  for, 
besides  pioneers  in  great  numbers,  and  soldiers,  either  for  mus- 
keteers or  for  digging  trenches,  all  the  rest  employed  themselves 
in  making  fascines  and  carrying  them  to  the  extremities  of  the 
works.  By  day,  it  was  impossible  to  attack  their  works ;  for  no 
sooner  did  the  enemy  catch  sight  of  a  Vaudois  cap,  than  they  let 
off  a  hundred  firelocks,  without  running  any  risk  on  their  part, 
protected  as  they  were  by  sacks  of  wool  and  by  their  parapets. 
But  scarcely  a  night  passed  without  some  sallies  being  made  by 
the  besieged. 

Seeing  that  the  discharge  of  musketry  answered  no  end  but 
to  waste  powder  and  shot,  De  Feuquieres  planted  a  cannon*  on 
a  level  with  the  castle,  on  the  mountain  of  Guignevert ;  he  then 
hoisted  a  white  flag,  and  after  that  a  red  one,  to  intimate  to  the 
besieged  that  unless  they  requested  peace  they  could  expect  no 
quarter.  They  had  already  been  invited  to  surrender,  and  had 
answered,  that  "  not  being  subjects  of  the  king  of  France,  and 
that  monarch  not  being  master  of  the  country,  we  cannot  treat 
with  his  officers.  Being  in  the  heritage  left  us  by  our  fathers 
from  time  immemorial,  we  hope,  by  the  aid  of  him  who  is  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  to  live  in  it  and  die  in  it,  should  only  ten  of  us  be 
left !  Discharge  your  artillery ;  our  rocks  will  not  be  terrified, 
and  we  will  listen  to  it." 

The  next  day  the  cannon  thundered  all  the  morning;  the 
balls  made  a  breach  in  the  walls,  and  orders  were  given  for  the 
assault  in  three  points.  One  column  marched  up  by  Clos- 
Dalmian ;  a  second  by  the  ordinary  approach ;  and  the  third  by 

*  We  may  judge  of  the  calibre  of  the  cannon  by  this  fact:— About  1811,  in 
removing  the  earth  on  the  site  of  the  castle,  a  ball  was  found  weighing  about 
eleven  pounds  of  twelve  ounces,  that  is,  about  eight  pounds  avoirdupois. 


340  HISTORY  OE  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  stream,  without  caring  for  the  fire  of  the  besieged,  nor  for 
the  stones  they  rolled  down  upon  them.  The  enemy,  moreover, 
protected  their  men  by  a  shower  of  balls,  which,  nevertheless,  by 
a  miracle  of  the  Divine  goodness,  killed  none  in  the  castle. 
But  the  Vaudois,  assailed  at  once  from  so  many  quarters,  and  by 
forces  so  disproportionably  greater  than  their  own,  saw  them- 
selves compelled  to  evacuate  their  lower  intrenchments.  Before 
quitting  them  they  put  to  death  their  prisoner,  M.  de  Parat, 
who,  when  informed  of  their  intentions,  replied,  "  I  pardon  you 
my  death." 

Balsille  could  not  be  defended  much  longer.  The  watch 
placed  upon  an  elevated  summit  had  been  driven  off  by  the 
enemy,  who  had  fired  upon  it  from  the  neighbouring  rocks. 
According  to  all  appearances,  the  fortress  as  well  as  the  upper 
intrenchments  must  soon  be  forced.  Happily,  the  day  was 
drawing  to  its  close.  One  means  only  of  safety  was  left  to  the 
Vaudois — flight.  It  was  a  difficult  matter,  for  they  were  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  the  enemy.  If  they  had  for  a  moment 
indulged  the  hope  of  succeeding  during  the  darkness,  they  lost 
it  as  soon  as  they  beheld  the  great  fires  which  were  lighted 
every  evening,  and  cast  a  bright  glare  all  round.  Nothing  was 
left  for  them  but  to  die.  The  French  were  rejoicing  at  the 
prospect  of  seeing  them  march  to  execution ;  the  cords  for  tying 
and  hanging  them  all  were  quite  ready ;  but  if  that  Providence 
which  had  hitherto  delivered  them  from  the  hands  of  their  ene- 
mies, had  permitted  them  now  to  be  driven  to  the  last  extremity, 
it  was  only  for  the  purpose  of  making  them  more  sensible  with 
what  care  He  watched  over  their  preservation.  In  fact,  a  thick 
fog  came  on  before  night,  and  Captain  Poulat,  who  belonged  to 
Balsille,  having  offered  to  be  their  guide,  they  prepared  to  follow 
him.  An  attentive  examination  of  the  enemy's  posts,  by  means 
of  their  fires,  had  indicated  to  this  leader  (who  was  perfectly 
familiar  with  the  localities,  the  undulations,  and  inclinations  of 
the  ground)  the  possibility  of  escaping,  if  God  permitted  it, 
though  by  a  frightful  road  along  a  ravine  or  precipice  which  he 
pointed  out.  Without  hesitation  they  descended  in  file,  through 
a  fissure  of  the  rocks,  the  greater  part  of  the  time  sitting  and 
sliding  down,  or  going  on  their  knees,  laying  hold  of  branches  of 
trees  or  of  bushes,  and  resting  for  a  few  moments.  Poulat  and 
those  who  were  with  him  at  the  head  groped  with  their  feet, 


WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.  341 

purposely  made  bare,  as  well  as  with  their  hands,  lengthening 
or  gathering  up  their  bodies,  to  make  sure  of  the  nature  and 
firmness  of  the  ground  on  which  they  were  about  to  trust  them- 
selves :  all  in  their  turn  imitated  the  movements  of  those  who 
preceded  them.  The  approaches  to  the  castle  were  so  well 
watched,  that  they  could  not  entirely  avoid  coming  into  the 
neighbourhood  of  some  of  the  soldiers  on  guard.  Accordingly, 
so  it  happened  ;  they  passed  close  to  a  French  patrol  just  as  he 
was  going  his  rounds :  and,  unfortunately,  at  that  instant  a 
Vaudois,  trying  to  help  himself  with  his  hands,  let  fall  a  small 
kettle  he  was  carrying,  and  which,  as  it  rolled,  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  sentinel.  Immediately  he  gave  the  challenge, 
"  Who  goes  there  ?"  "  But,"  says  Arnaud,  humorously,  in  hia 
narrative,  "  this  kettle  (which  fortunately  was  not  like  one  of 
those  that  the  poets  feign,  as  giving  oracles  in  the  forest  of  Do- 
dona)  making  no  answer,  the  sentinel  thought  he  was  mistaken, 
and  did  not  repeat  his  challenge."  Having  reached  the  foot  of 
the  precipice,  the  Vaudois,  descending  the  steep  slopes  of 
Guignevert,  directed  their  course  southward  towards  Salse.  It 
was  now  two  hours  after  daybreak,  and  they  were  still  ascend- 
ing by  steps  which  they  hollowed  out  in  the  snow.  Then  the 
enemy,  who  were  encamped  at  Lautiga,  under  the  rock  where 
the  Vaudois  had  placed  their  mountain  watch,  discovered  them, 
and  cried  out  that  the  barbets  had  made  their  escape. 

A  detachment  in  pursuit  followed  them  for  two  days,  until,  on 
the  1 7th,  as  the  enemy  were  on  their  track,  they  left  the  moun- 
tain to  the  south  and  invaded  Pramol.  There  they  came  into 
conflict  with  the  inhabitants  and  some  soldiers  intrenched  in  the 
churchyard,  killed  fifty-seven  men,  and  burned  the  village. 
They  had  to  lament  on  their  own  side  three  wounded  and  as 
many  killed,  without  reckoning  one  of  their  wives,  (though  very 
few  of  them  were  there,)  who  was  struck  at  the  very  moment  she 
was  carrying  some  straw  to  smoke  those  persons  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  temple.  They  captured  the  commandant  De 
Vignaux,  with  three  lieutenants.  The  first  of  these  officers  in- 
formed Arnaud,  when  he  delivered  up  his  sword,  that  Victor 
Amadeus  would  have  to  decide  in  three  days  either  to  continue 
his  alliance  with  France,  or  to  join  the  coalition  which  the  em- 
peror, one  part  of  Germany,  Holland,  England,  and  Spain,  had 
formed  against  Louis  XIV.   Arnaud,  who,  by  his  secret  relations 


342  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

with  the  prince  of  Orange,  now  become  king  of  England,  had 
been  initiated  into  European  politics,  but  during  his  isolation  in 
Balsille  had  been  debarred  from  any  certain  intelligence,  per- 
ceived in  an  instant  how  much  depended  for  himself  and  his 
troop  on  the  resolution  the  duke  might  take.  He  saw  it  would 
be  either  their  ruin  or  deliverance.  To  foresee  what  the  deter- 
mination of  the  prince  would  be,  was  impossible :  he  waited  for 
it  with  intense  anxiety. 

On  the  following  day,  May  the  18th,  1690,  being  Sunday, 
the  decision  taken  by  Victor  Amadeus  was  announced  to  them, 
and  peace  was  offered  them  in  his  name,  by  two  individuals  of 
San  Giovanni  and  Angrogna  whom  they  well  knew,  MM. 
Parender  and  Bertin,  sent  for  this  purpose  by  the  Baron  de 
Palavacini,  a  general  of  the  duke. 

Who  can  imagine  the  joy  of  these  poor  people,  whom  a  war 
of  nine  months  had  weakened  and  reduced  to  two-thirds  of  their 
original  number,  whom  famine  pursued,  and  who,  chased  from 
their  last  asylum,  tracked  like  game  from  rock  to  rock,  from 
valley  to  valley,  could  only  expect  death  or  perpetual  imprison- 
ment ?  News  so  unexpected  might  have  been  fatal  to  many,  by 
exciting  their  sensibility  too  strongly,  and  transporting  them  at 
once,  without  any  intermediate  steps,  from  the  gloomiest  resolu- 
tions to  the  most  delightful  hopes,  if  the  fear  that  it  was  prema- 
ture had  not  repressed  the  first  impulses  of  their  joy. 

But  gradually  events  occurred  to  confirm  the  fact.  The 
Piedmontese  garrison  of  the  town  of  La  Torre  captured,  under 
the  eyes  of  the  Yaudois,  the  French  detachment  of  Clerambaud, 
which,  in  pursuit  of  these  latter,  had  entered  that  place  to  refresh 
themselves.  At  the  same  time,  provisions  were  distributed  in 
the  duke's  name  to  these  poor  fugitives  from  Balsille,  who  eight 
days  before  had  been  doomed  to  death.  The  village  of  Bobbio 
was  put  into  their  hands,  and  intrusted  to  their  protection.  A 
little  while  after,  they  witnessed  the  arrival  of  the  ministers 
Montoux  and  Bastie,  Captain  Pelenc,  the  surgeon  Malanot,  and 
twenty  others,  who,  released  from  the  prisons  of  Turin,  hastened 
to  meet  their  brethren  with  transports  of  joy.  It  is  told  that  on 
this  occasion  the  prince  kindly  addressed  them,  and  said  that  he 
would  not  prevent  them  from  preaching  anywhere,  even  in 
Turin.  They  also  saw  themselves  treated  with  confidence.  The 
commandant  of  the  troops  of  his  royal  highness  called  for  their 


SPEECH  OP  VICTOR  AMADEUS  II.  343 

cooperation,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  duke's  troops,  they 
passed  through  the  defile  of  La  Croix,  assisted  in  beating  the 
enemy,  burned  Abries,  and  returned  to  Bobbio  laden  with  booty. 
They  attacked  the  French  troops  intrenched  in  the  forts  of  San 
Michel  of  Lucerna,  and  of  La  Torre.  Success  crowned  the 
arms  of  their  prince,  whom  they  were  now  happy  to  serve. 

One  of  their  captains  having  made  an  incursion  into  Pragela, 
and  seized  a  courier  with  letters  for  the  king  of  France,  Arnaud, 
who  had  informed  the  Baron  Palavicini  of  the  occurrence,  re~ 
ceived  orders  to  bring  the  despatches  to  him,  and  accompanied 
this  general-in-chief  to  his  royal  highness.  Victor  Amadeus  II. 
received  the  Vaudois  deputation  with  cordiality.  "  You  have," 
he  said,  "  only  one  God  and  one  prince  to  serve.  Serve  God 
and  your  prince  faithfully.  Up  to  the  present  time  we  have 
been  enemies ;  henceforward  we  must  be  good  friends ;  others 
have  been  the  cause  of  your  misfortunes ;  but  if,  as  you  ought, 
you  hazard  your  lives  in  my  service,  I  will  also  hazard  my  life 
for  you ;  and  as  long  as  I  have  a  morsel  of  bread,  you  shall  have 
your  share  of  it." 

If  political  interests  had  reconciled  Victor  Amadeus  to  his 
unfortunate  subjects  of  the  Vaudois  valleys,  if  the  necessity  of 
defending  his  frontier,  joined  to  the  want  of  experienced  soldiers, 
made  him  confide  that  post  of  honour  to  these  very  men  whose 
character  and  sentiments  he  had  misapprehended,  we  must  still 
acknowledge  that  the  sight  of  their  devotedness  to  his  cause  and 
their  exemplary  fidelity  touched  his  heart,  and  won  his  affection 
for  them.  This  prince,  enlightened  as  to  the  disposition  and 
wishes  of  his  subjects  in  reference  to  religion,  gave  them  his 
esteem,  and  did  not  withdraw  it.  It  is  true,  it  was  not  till  some 
years  after  the  13th  (23d)  May,  1694,  that  the  act  of  pacification 
respecting  the  Vaudois  affairs  was  proclaimed;  nevertheless, 
from  the  first  day  that  the  offer  of  peace  was  made,  the  recon- 
ciliation was  sincere  and  complete  on  both  sides. 

The  confidence  of  the  prince  was  not  limited  to  committing 
the  guard  of  the  frontiers  to  a  band  of  the  once  proscribed 
Vaudois,  nor  his  esteem  to  granting  the  rank  of  colonel  to  their 
chief,  Arnaud ;  his  justice  crowned  their  wishes,  by  consenting 
to  the  return  of  their  families  to  the  valleys,  as  well  as  their  re- 
instatement in  their  ancient  heritage.  At  the  beginning  of  July, 
the  indefatigable  Arnaud  travelled  in  all  haste  to  Milan,  to  meet 


HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

the  Vaudois  bands  who  were  expected  there.  These  were, 
without  doubt,  composed  of  exiles  that  had  remained  in  the 
north  of  Switzerland,  the  Grisons,  and  Wirtemberg,  and  who, 
being  informed  of  the  favourable  disposition  of  Victor  Amadeus, 
rejoined  their  brethren,  bringing  with  them  their  wives  and 
children,  whom  the  latter  had  confided  to  their  generous  hosts, 
when  they  set  out  eleven  months  before  for  the  conquest  of  their 
native  country.  From  the  lofty  mountains  of  Switzerland  they 
descended  to  the  friendly  plains,  whose  sovereigns,  like  their 
own,  were  members  of  the  coalition. 

We  regret  the  want  of  precise  information  respecting  the  re- 
turn of  the  Vaudois  who  were  domiciled  in  western  Switzerland. 
But  it  is  sufficient  to  know  that  the  generality  of  the  members  of 
this  great  family,  with  few  exceptions,  directed  their  footsteps  to 
the  country  of  their  fathers.  This  was  the  case  with  even  those 
at  the  greatest  distance.  The  elector  of  Brandenburg,  who  had 
received  them  into  his  dominions  with  so  much  cordiality,  and 
had  incurred  great  expense  in  their  settlement,  did  not  hesitate 
to  make  fresh  sacrifices  in  order  to  gratify  the  wish  of  their 
hearts.  He  generously  furnished  them  with  the  means  of  re- 
turning home. 

To  do  entire  justice  to  the  good  faith  of  Victor  Amadeus,  we 
ought  to  add,  that  he  not  only  allowed  all  the  exiles  to  re- 
turn, but  consented  that  those  Vaudois  whom  distress  had  en- 
slaved for  a  time* to  the  Romish  worship  should  return  to  the 
faith  of  their  pious  ancestors  and  their  heroic  brethren.  Avail- 
ing themselves  of  his  benevolence,  and  making  use  of  their 
liberty,  a  great  number  of  young  persons  of  both  sexes,  who  had 
been  forced  to  enter  into  the  service  of  the  rich  Piedmontese  in 
order  to  save  their  lives,  as  well  as  the  children  who  were  ab- 
ducted at  the  time  of  the  imprisonment  in  1686,  and  of  the  emi- 
gration in  1687,  hastened  to  the  places  of  their  birth  to  seek 
their  relations,  and  to  profess  once  more  a  faith,  the  recollections 
of  which  still  filled  their  hearts. 

After  four  years  of  cruel  and  painful  separation,  how  happy 
were  they  to  see  themselves  again  in  that  beloved  country  which 
they  had  recovered,  but  where  they  had  everything  to  re- 
establish !  As  when  Israel,  released  from  captivity,  returned  to 
the  land  of  their  fathers  to  rebuild  Jerusalem,  to  restore  its 
temple  and  its  worship,  and  to  cultivate  its  long-abandoned 


FIDELITY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS.  345 

fields,  that  they  might  present  their  tithes  to  Jehovah,  so  this 
feeble  remnant  of  the  Vaudois,  without  laying  aside  the  weapons 
that  were  necessary  for  the  defence  of  their  prince,  took  the 
trowel,  the  spade,  and  the  plough,  rebuilt  their  thatched  cottages, 
repaired  their  temples  and  their  villages,  recognized  and  sowed 
their  fallow  ground,  and  with  grateful  and  loving  hearts  returned 
thanks  to  the  all-wise,  all-good,  all-powerful  God,  who,  having 
made  them  pass  through  severe  but  salutary  trials,  had  restored 
to  them,  on  the  soil  of  their  fathers,  the  liberty  of  serving  him 
with  a  pure  worship,  conformable  to  his  word. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  VAUDOIS  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY,  AND  DURING  THE 
FRENCH  REVOLUTION. 1690-1814. 

"  Serve  God  and  your  prince  faithfully ;"  such  was  the  prin- 
cipal passage  and  substance  of  the  address  of  Victor  Amadeus  II. 
to  the  Vaudois  chiefs,  when  he  declared  that  he  would  grant  his 
affection  as  well  as  protection  to  their  people.  Words  delightful 
to  their  ears !  for  if  they  brought  under  their  notice  a  duty 
which  in  their  last  armed  conflict  had  undergone  a  forcible  in- 
terruption, they  specified  in  the  first  place  that  duty  which 
claimed  the  preference  to  it.  The  duke  himself  placed  fidelity 
to  God  before  that  which  related  to  his  own  person.  Their  past 
conduct  thus  received  its  justification  in  the  judgment  even  of 
him  who  was  most  interested,  next  to  themselves,  that  there 
should  be  no  recurrence  of  conflict  between  the  two  duties.  The 
future,  in  its  turn,  offered  them  some  security,  since  the  prince 
of  his  own  motion  assigned  to  the  two  great  duties  which  should 
govern  the  life  of  a  Christian  citizen,  the  same  order  as  that  in 
which  the  Vaudois  had  always  placed  them,  when  they  supported 
them  by  an  appeal  to  the  apostolic  injunction,  "  Fear  God,  honour 
the  king."  1  Peter  ii,  1 7. 

The  Vaudois,  grateful  to  their  sovereign  for  the  return  of  his 
benevolence,  endeavoured  to  give  him  palpable  proofs  of  their 
sincerity ;  and,  in  the  first  place,  by  shedding  their  blood  for  him. 
They  hastened  to  his  standard  at  the  first  call,  without  sparing 
themselves.    "  Thev  were  a  great  support  to  the  duke  of  Savoy, 

15* 


340  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOI3. 

when  the  war  with  France  broke  out,"  says  a  Piedmontese  au- 
thor, Charles  Botta,  who  is  far  from  being  prejudiced  in  their 
favour. — Storia  d'ltalia,  t.  vii,  p.  20.  The  count  of  Saluzzo,  in 
his  Military  History  of  Piedmont,  expresses  himself  as  follows : — 
"  These  mountaineers  hastened  to  join  the  marquis  de  Parelle, 
who  had  not  long  before  attacked  them,  and  the  skirmishes  on 
the  mountains  cost  the  enemy,  whom  they  drove  from  Lucerna, 
more  than  a  thousand  men." — Histoire  Militaire,  t.  v,  p.  13.  The 
marquis  Costa  de  Beauregard,  in  his  "  Historical  Memoirs  of  the 
House  of  Savoy,"  (Memoir es  Historiques  sur  la  Maison  de  Savoie,) 
speaks  of  the  bravery  of  the  barbets,  who  rendered  themselves 
formidable  to  the  French. — Tom.  iii,  pp.  38-41.  He  even  passes 
an  eulogium  on  their  conduct  at  the  siege  of  Coni,  in  the  follow- 
ing year.  "  This  fortress,"  he  says,  "  invested  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the.  campaign,  was  for  a  long  time  defended  only  by  its 
own  inhabitants  and  some  troops  of  peasants  from  the  neighbour- 
ing districts,  among  others  by  eight  hundred  Vaudois,  under  the 
command  of  a  chief  celebrated  among  them." 

While  the  military  force  of  the  valleys  distinguished  itself  in 
the  defence  of  towns  as  well  as  in  the  field  of  battle,*  and  thus 
fulfilled  the  wish  expressed  to  their  leader  Arnaud  by  their  prince, 
the  latter  interested  himself,  according  to  his  promise,  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Yaudois  families,  and  gave  the  necessary  or- 
ders for  that  purpose.  Nevertheless,  the  resumption  of  their  an- 
cient inheritance  was  not  so  easy  in  point  of  law  as  the  simple 
act  might  have  been,  for  this  property  had  changed  masters.  One 
part  had  been  ceded  to  religious  corporations ;  another  part  sold 
to  individuals ;  a  third  had  been  let  on  a  lease.  It  was  desirable 
to  make  an  amicable  arrangement  with  the  various  holders  of 
the  property ;  and  the  prince  acted  accordingly. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  numbers  of  the  Vaudois 
who  established  themselves  in  their  burned  or  half-deserted  vil- 
lages ;  but  the  exact  data  are  wanting.  All  that  we  know  is,  that, 
during  the  years  immediately  following,  the  number  of  Vaudois 
able  to  bear  arms  did  not  exceed  a  thousand  or  eleven  hundred. 
And  taking  into  account  the  very  small  proportion  of  children 
to  adults,  on  their  return,  we  can  scarcely  suppose  the  popula- 

*  At  Marsaille— a  battle  lost,  it  is  true,  by  the  duke  and  his  allies— the  Vau- 
dois captains  were  Imbert,  Peyrot,  Combe,  and  CafTarel.  (Storia  di  Pinerolo, 
1836  ;  t.  iv,  p.  140.) 


EDICT  OF  1G94.  347 

tion  more  than  three  or  four  thousand  persons.  There  was, 
however,  in  a  short  time,  a  rapid  increase,  the  effect  of  numerous 
marriages  and  births,  as  is  attested  by  some  of  the  parish  registers.* 
To  the  account  of  the  Vaudois  we  must  also  add,  in  order  to  have 
the  real  number  of  the  evangelical  professors  who  came  to  re- 
people  the  valleys,  some  thousands  of  French  from  Pragela, 
Dauphine,  and  elsewhere,  some  of  whom  had  deserved  this  favour 
by  fighting  in  the  ranks  of  the  Vaudois,  under  the  conduct  of 
Arnaud ;  and  others,  attracted  by  their  brethren  and  friends,  had 
joined  them,  desirous  as  they  were  to  live  in  countries  bordering 
on  the  parts  from  wiiich  Louis  XIV.  had  driven  them. 

Victor  Amadeus,  who  regretted  having  been  deprived,  by  a 
persecution  equally  unjust  and  impolitic,  of  a  faithful  and  cou- 
rageous people,  and  who  now  wished  to  see  them  acquire  some 
consistence,  permitted  the  establishment  of  these  strangers,  who 
assimilated  themselves  to  his  subjects. 

The  manifesto,  which  was  intended  to  determine  the  position 
of  the  Vaudois  in  the  state,  to  recognize  their  right  to  the  pos- 
session of  the  territory,  and  to  guarantee  the  exercise  of  their 
religion,  was,  we  may  easily  imagine,  a  document  as  difficult  for 
the  sovereign  to  draw  up  as  to  publish,  on  account  of  the  constant 
opposition  of  their  inveterate  enemies,  the  papists,  especially  the 
priests  and  their  agents.  Nevertheless,  the  real  services  they 
had  rendered  to  their  prince  in  this  war  were  too  recent,  and 
those  that  were  still  expected  from  their  zeal  too  necessary,  to 
allow  the  refusal  of  this  authentic  act.  An  edict  of  pacification 
was  therefore  published ;  but  care  was  taken  to  grant  the  Vau- 
dois no  new  advantage.  They  were  put  on  the  same  footing  on 
which  they  stood  before  the  events  that  led  to  their  exile.  The 
edict,  which  is  dated  13  (23)  May,  1694,  contains  in  substance 
the  recognition  of  their  legitimate  establishment  in  the  land  of 
their  ancestors,  and  their  hereditary  possessions ;  the  revocation 
of  the  edicts  of  January  and  April,  1686;  with  a  general  and 
complete  amnesty,  and  the  promise  of  the  favour  of  their  prince. 
It  obtained,  moreover,  all  the  legal  sanctions  of  registration  that 
were  necessary  to  render  it  effectual.f     That  the  Vaudois,  how- 

*  In  the  register  of  births,  in  the  church  of  Angrogna,  it  is  stated  that  from 
the  month  of  August,  1690,  to  January  1st,  1697,  there  were  95  marriages  and 
143  births  in  this  very  large  commune. 

t  This  fact  is  not  without  importance.  The  history  of  former  periods  shows 
us  that  many  decrees  of  his  royal  highness  were  not  effective,  owing  to  their 


348  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ever,  did  not  obtain  their  re-settlement  without  meeting  with  im- 
pediments, is  proved  by  the  fact  that  pope  Innocent  XII.,  in  a 
bull  of  the  19th  of  August,  of  the  same  year,  1694,  declares  the 
ducal  edict  respecting  the  Vaudois  to  be  null  and  void,  and  en- 
joins on  his  inquisitors  to  pay  no  regard  to  it  in  the  pursuit  of 
these  heretics.  But  the  senate  of  Turin,  in  decided  harmony 
with  the  will  of  the  prince,  confirmed,  by  their  rescript  of  the  31st 
of  August,  the  validity  of  the  edict  of  May  13,  (23,)  and  prohibit- 
ed the  pope's  bull. 

However  ill-disposed  certain  persons  might  be,  the  Vaudois 
colony  would  have  advanced  rapidly  to  prosperity,  and  risen  from 
its  ruins,  protected  as  it  was  by  the  good-will  of  its  sovereign,  if 
politics,  with  their  sinister  means,  their  temptations  and  cruel  re- 
servations, had  not  given  it  a  fatal  blow.  Victor  Amadeus,  se- 
duced by  the  brilliant  promises  of  Louis  XIV.,  who  restored  to 
him  his  lost  provinces,  and  requested  his  daughter's  hand  for  his 
grandson,  the  heir  presumptive  to  the  crown  of  France,  consent- 
ed to  break  his  engagements  with  his  allies,  and  to  place  himself 
under  the  patronage  of  the  great  king.  If,  in  accordance  with 
the  conditions  of  the  treaty,  Victor  Amadeus  remained  faithful 
to  his  pledge  to  maintain  the  Vaudois  in  their  heritage,  and  if  he 
protected  them  against  their  inveterate  enemy,  the  real  author  of 
the  frightful  calamities  of  1686,  yet  he  consented,  alas !  to  rigor- 
ous measures  against  the  French  belonging  to  the  reformed 
church  who  were  settled  in  the  valleys,  with  whom  he  had  made, 
it  is  true,  no  express  engagement,  but  whom  five  years'  residence 
might  authorize  to  consider  themselves  as  his  new  subjects.  It 
was  stipulated  in  this  treaty,  concluded  secretly  at  Loretto,  at  the 
beginning  of  1696, — 1.  That  the  inhabitants  of  the  Vaudois  val- 
leys should  have  no  communication  or  connexion  with  the  sub- 
jects of  the  great  king  in  matters  of  religion ;  and,  2.  That  the 
subjects  of  his  most  Christian  majesty  who  had  taken  refuge  in 
the  valleys  should  be  banished. 

In  conformity  with  this  treaty,  those  of  the  French  reformed 
settled  in  the  valleys,  who  had  enlisted  in  the  Vaudois  army,  in 
the  service  of  the  duke,  were  obliged  to  quit  the  camp  at  Fres- 
carole,  and  pass  into  Switzerland.     They  reached  the  French 

not  being  entered  in  the  registers  of  the  Senate.  (For  the  Edict,  see  Storia  di 
Pinerolo,  iv,  141,  and  especially  Duboin,  Raccolta,  etc.,  Turin,  1826,  t.  ii,  p. 
109  to  278,  which  contain  the  edicts  relating  to  the  Vaudois.) 


EXILE  OF  THE  FRENCH  PROTESTANTS.     349 

part  of  the  canton  of  Berne  at  the  beginning  of  August.  Others 
followed  them  in  the  month  of  September.  In  the  course  of  1698, 
and  not  before,  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  fully  executed.  In 
the  interval,  apart  from  the  efforts  made  to  lead  back  to  popery, 
by  working  on  their  fears,  those  who  had  returned  to  the  Vaudois 
faith, — to  alienate  family  property  by  marriages  with  Catholics ; 
and  to  prevent  the  valley  of  Perosa  from  being  peopled  with 
Vaudois, — scarcely  any  change  was  perceptible  in  the  valleys. 
But  on  the  1st  of  July,  1698,  the  duke  of  Savoy  published  the 
twofold  decree  which  his  powerful  neighbour  had  wrested  from 
him;  namely,  prohibiting  the  Vaudois  from  having  any  con- 
nexion, in  religious  matters,  with  his  French  subjects,  and  order- 
ing the  latter  to  leave  the  valleys  within  the  space  of  two  months, 
under  pain  of  death  and  confiscation.  This  edict  forcibly  ex- 
pelled seven  pastors,  who  came  originally  from  Pragela  and  Dau- 
phine, — Montoux,  the  companion  of  Arnaud,  Pappon,  Giraud, 
Jourdan,  Dumas,  Javel,  and,  lastly,  Henri  Arnaud  himself.  In 
fact,  Arnaud  was  a  Frenchman,  from  the  environs  of  Die.  Had 
it  been  otherwise,  some  reason  probably  would  have  been  found 
for  getting  rid  of  him,  for  jealousy  and  calumny  pursued  him 
with  their  envenomed  tongues.  The  accusation  was  wickedly 
renewed  against  him  of  wishing  to  form  a  republic,  although  his 
part  in  civil  affairs  was  confined  to  settling  the  differences  which 
sometimes  arose  in  families,  in  rebuilding  houses,  or  in  the  divi- 
sion of  property  on  the  unexpected  return  of  some  relation.  His 
person  was  too  highly  venerated,  his  counsels  too  much  valued, 
and  followed  too  promptly,  to  render  it  surprising  that  umbrage 
should  be  taken  at  a  man  so  influential  among  his  adopted  peo- 
ple. His  name,  celebrated  by  the  remembrance  of  his  exploits, 
by  his  enterprising  genius  and  heroic  firmness,  as  well  as  by  his 
talents  and  virtues  as  a  pastor,  made  him  an  object  of  dread  to  a 
party  destitute  of  generosity,  who,  in  the  councils  of  the  prince, 
secretly  excited  hatred  against  the  evangelicals.  It  was  with'  a 
heavy  heart  that  the  friend,  the  leader,  the  hero,  the  beloved 
pastor  of  the  Vaudois,  quitted  forever  these  churches  to  which 
he  had  consecrated  his  life,  and  for  whose  re-establishment  he 
had  not  feared  death  on  the  field  of  battle.  Three  thousand 
Frenchmen,  refugees  from  Pragela,  Dauphine*,  and  elsewhere, 
withdrew  with  him  from  the  valleys,  where,  after  cruel  persecu- 
tions, they  had  found  for  a  few  years  an  imperfect  repose. 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

Geneva,  which  had  admitted  within  its  walls  the  unfortunate 
Vaudois  twelve  years  before,  again  charitably  received  these 
new  guests,  until  their  departure  for  Switzerland  and  Germany. 
Arnaud  entered  it  on  the  30th  August,  1698.  The  companies 
of  the  other  exiles  followed  during  the  first  days  of  September. 

Always  prompt  in  his  measures,  Arnaud  had  scarcely  arrived, 
when  he  set  out  to  solicit  an  asylum  for  his  brethren  from  the 
Protestant  courts  of  Germany.  Writing  from  Stuttgard,  he  had 
the  pleasure  of  announcing  to  the  Bernese  magistrates  that  the 
duke  of  Wirtemberg  was  favourable  to  the  exiles,  and  would 
admit  them  within  his  territories. 

They  left,  and  this  time  without  the  hope  of  ever  returning 
to  their  inhospitable  valleys.  The  love  of  the  Lord  and  Christian 
charity  upheld  their  tottering  steps.  At  one  of  their  halts,  at 
Knittlingen,  on  the  road  from  the  Rhine  to  Maulbronn,  a  few 
leagues  only  from  their  destination,  they  took  possession  of  the 
soil  by  depositing  in  it  the  remains  of  one  of  their  faithful  pas- 
tors, named  Dumas,  to  whom  death  had  scarcely  given  time  to 
reach  a  place  of  refuge  before  he  departed  * 

It  was  on  the  west  and  north  of  Stuttgard  that  the  emigrants 
from  the  Vaudois  Alps  established  themselves  and  founded  their 
colonies,  to  Which,  from  recollections  at  once  mournful  and  de- 
lightful, they  gave  the  names  of  villages  in  the  valleys  of  Perosa 
and  Pragela  which  they  had  been  obliged  to  quit. 

On  the  soil  of  Germany,  these  victims  of  the  fanatic  hatred 
of  Louis  XIV.  experienced  no  recurrence  of  sufferings  such  as 
those  they  formerly  endured.  Protected  by  the  august  princes 
of  the  Protestant  faith,  and  treated  by  them  with  equity  and 
kindness,  like  their  other  subjects,  they  have  lived  in  prosperity 
and  peace. 

Down  to  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  the 
Vaudois  colonies  of  Wirtemberg  governed  themselves,  as  far  as 
regarded  ecclesiastical  affairs,  by  means  of  a  Presbyterian  synod. 

*  We  are  indebted  for  these  particulars,  as  well  as  for  many  others  respect- 
ing the  Vaudois  settlements  in  the  south-west  of  Germany,  to  the  kindness  of 
our  fellow-countryman  and  friend,  M.  P.  Appia,  pastor  of  the  French  Church  at 
Frankfort-on-Main.  The  valleys  of  Piedmont  number  him  among  the  worthiest 
of  their  sons,  and  one  of  their  most  devoted  counsellors.  I  hope  this  humble 
and  faithful  servant  of  God  will  bear  with  this  public  expression  of  respect  which 
his  character  claims  ;  we  are  prompted  to  it  by  personal  regards  and  a  convic- 
tion of  its  truth. 


VAUDOIS  COLONIES  OF  WIRTEMBERG.  351 

Conformably  to  the  traditions  of  their  church,  they  provided  at 
their  own  expense  the  means  of  worship  and  instruction,  and 
paid  for  the  repairs  of  the  temples,  parsonages,  and  school- 
houses,  as  well  as  the  maintenance  of  the  school-masters  and 
pastors ;  a  considerable  charge  upon  their  poverty,  which  was 
lightened,  however,  by  the  contributions  of  English  charity. 
For  a  long  time  they  had  the  pleasure  of  being  watched  over  by 
pastors  of  their  own  or  of  the  mother-country,  and  of  listening 
to  their  instructions  in  the  language  of  their  ancestors.  But  for 
many  years  they  have  been  under  the  control  (though  un- 
willingly, for  the  most  part,  and  with  a  constrained  submission) 
of  the  superior  consistory  of  Stuttgard.  Henceforward,  the 
language  of  their  worship  and  schools  is  German,  and  the  na- 
tional element  is  lost.  In  a  short  time  their  separate  history 
will  end,  if  it  have  not  done  so  already.  The  Vaudois  patois  is 
almost  forgotten,  though  it  may  be  in  use  in  a  certain  number 
of  villages.*  Very  soon,  it  is  to  be  feared,  nothing  but  the 
namesf  of  families  and  those  of  villages  and  particular  localities 
will  recall  the  origin  of  these  men  of  the  south,  whose  swarthy 
complexion  and  black  hair  will  no  longer  serve  to  distinguish 
their  descendants. 

In  one  of  these  colonies,  Schoenberg,  near  Durrmenz,  the 
hero  of  the  Vaudois  terminated  his  career.  Preferring  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  pastoral  functions  to  military  honours  and  glory, 
Henri  Arnaud  declined  the  pressing  invitations  of  William  III., 
king  of  England,  who  had  sent  him  a  colonel's  brevet  and  the 
offer  of  a  regiment.  He  wished  to  forget,  as  an  humble  presbyter, 
the  art  of  war  and  generalship,  together  with  the  remembrance 
of  his  exploits.  Wholly  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  to 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  to  consoling  the  poor  and  the 
afflicted,  he  applied  himself  to  lead  the  flock  committed  to  his 
charge  no  longer  into  their  ancient  country,  as  when  he  recon- 

*  In  1820,  a  schoolmaster,  originally  from  the  settlement  of  Serres,  conversed 
at  Lausanne  in  the  patois,  which  he  generally  used,  with  the  students  from  the 
Vaudois  valley,  and  was  understood  by  them.  The  pastor  Appia,  in  two  visits 
which  he  paid  to  the  Vaudois  settlements  of  Wirtemberg,  in  1845  and  1846,  as- 
certained, that  though  in  many  villages,  such  as  Serres  and  Pinache,  all  the 
families  still  speak  their  ancient  idiom  ;  at  other  places,  such  as  Perosa,  it  is 
entirely  forgotten. 

t  Among  the  names  well  known  in  the  Vaudois  valleys  and  in  Pragela,  are 
those  of  Rivoire,  Mondon,  Geymet,  Vole,  Poet,  Peyrot,  Clapier,  Pascal,  Jourdan, 
Carrier,  Jouvenal,  etc. 


352  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

quered  the  Vaudois  soil  at  the  head  of  nine  hundred  valiant 
men,  but  to  the  heavenly  abodes,  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Head 
and  Saviour  of  the  Church. 

Having  been  twice  married,  and  the  father  of  three  sons  and 
two  daughters,  he  died  at  Schoenberg  on  the  8th  of  September, 
1721,  at  the  age  of  fourscore  years,  leaving  a  very  inconsiderable 
patrimony  to  his  children — an  evident  proof,  that  in  his  con- 
nexions with  the  great  in  this  world,  as  well  as  in  his  enterprises, 
he  had  forgotten  himself  while  seeking  only  the  general  good. 

Within  the  humble  precincts  of  a  temple  with  walls  of  clay, 
and  a  bell  whose  sound  was  never  heard  beyond  the  cherry- 
trees  of  the  village,  gratitude  and  respect  have  assigned  an 
honourable  place  to  the  mortal  remains  of  this  great  man,  for 
whom  the  modest  crook  of  a  shepherd  of  souls  had  a  stronger 
attraction  than  an  elevated  rank  in  the  army,  than  honour  and 
glory,  or  than  the  favour  of  courts.  His  ashes  repose  at  the  foot 
of  the  communion-table.  An  engraving,  hung  under  the  desk 
of  the  pulpit,  exhibits  the  features  which  distinguished  the  hero 
of  Salabertrand  and  Balsille ;  while  a  Latin  inscription  engraven 
on  the  stone  that  covers  his  tomb  recalls  his  exploits.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  translation : — 

"  BENEATH  THIS  TOMB  LIES  HENRI  ARNATJD, 

PASTOR,  AND  ALSO  MILITARY  COMMANDER,  OF  THE 

PIEDMONTESE  VAUDOIS." 

In  the  centre  of  the  monument — 

"  Thou  seest  here  the  ashes  of  Arnaud,  but  his  achievements, 
labours,  and  undaunted  courage  no  one  can  depict.  The  son 
of  Jesse  combats  alone  against  thousands  of  foreigners ;  alone  he 
terrifies  their  camp  and  leader.  He  died  Sept.  8,  and  was 
buried,  1721. 

"AGED  LXXX." 

The  Vaudois  population  of  the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  Angrogna, 
Perosa,  and  San  Martino,  now  considerably  diminished  by  the 
forced  emigration  of  three  thousand  Frenchmen,  whose  presence 
during  many  years  had  filled  up  the  immense  vacancies  made 
by  persecution,  had  themselves  to  suffer,  at  times,  measures 
severe  and  vexatious,  as  well  as  prejudicial  to  their  prosperity. 
Although  it  appeared  certain  that  Victor  Amadeus  was  not  un- 


ATTEMPTS  AT  OPPRESSION.         353 

favourably  disposed  to  the  Vaudois,  yet  an  underhand  and  con- 
cealed war  was  made  upon  them.  Contrary  to  the  terms  of  the 
edict  for  their  re-establishment,  the  children  of  the  Vaudois  who 
had  been  dispersed  over  Piedmont  were  tampered  with  and  turned 
from  the  faith  by  promises  of  marriage  and  other  means  of  seduc- 
tion, or  by  acting  on  their  fears  by  threats.  Under  the  pretext 
of  the  incompatibility  of  Protestantism  and  Popery,  and  at  the 
instigation  of  France,  their  next  neighbour,*  endeavours  were 
made  to  prevent  the  Vaudois  of  the  half-valley  of  Perosa  from 
entering  into  possession  of  their  property  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Clusone,  and  establishing  themselves  there.  Payment  in  full 
was  claimed,  out  of  their  slender  means,  of  all  the  taxes  and  im- 
posts since  their  expulsion  in  1686,  and  consequently  during  the 
period  which  they  had  spent  in  foreign  lands,  and  in  which  their 
property  was  possessed  by  others.  Ancient  debts,  also,  which 
they  supposed  were  extinguished,  were  laid  to  their  account, 
amounting,  with  some  fresh  items,  to  450,000  French  francs,  for 
which  interest  was  required  at  three  per  cent.  It  was  an  addi- 
tional misfortune  that  the  imposts  had  been  considerably  in- 
creased, and  were  exacted  with  rigour.  While  they  were  not 
required  from  the  Catholics,  the  Vaudois,  who  were  unable  to 
discharge  them,  were  immediately  ejected.  Popish  missionaries 
traversed  the  villages  and  mountains,  directing  their  efforts 
chiefly  to  poor  families,  whom  they  too  often  succeeded  in  draw- 
ing into  apostasy.  Sometimes  the  vague  rumour  of  a  new  and 
immediate  forced  emigration  was  spread  from  place  to  place,  and 
filled  their  hearts  with  anxiety ;  at  other  times  they  were  calmed 
and  consoled  by  being  assured  that  the  duke  was  most  kindly 
disposed  towards  his  Vaudois  subjects.  They  were  never  al- 
lowed to  repair  or  rebuild  the  churches  that  had  been  injured 
or  pulled  down,  and  the  severe  measures  taken  against  the 
French  part  of  the  population  prevented  their  having  a  sufficient 
number  of  ministers.  This  want  would  have  been  unsupplied 
if  the  canton  of  Berne  had  not  sent  some  preachers,  by  permis- 
sion of  the  duke.f 

At  the  end  of  1698,  the  situation  of  the  Vaudois  appeared  so 

*  It  must  be  recollected  that  France  at  that  time  possessed  the  valley  of 
Pragela,  the  eastern  part  of  the  valley  of  Perosa  and  Pinerolo. 

t  At  that  time,  the  following  eminent  men  were  among  the  pastors  of  the 
valleys  :  Jacob  Dubois,  Philippe  Dind,  Isaac  Senebier,  Joseph  Decoppet,  Philippe 
Dutoit,  and  Abram  Ilenriod.— (Extract  from  the  parish  registers  of  the  valleys.) 


354  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

precarious  that  one  of  their  pastors,  Blachon,  expressed  in  a 
letter  his  fears  that  such  a  state  of  things  could  not  last  a  year, 
and  as  it  concerned  himself,  he  saw  no  safety  but  in  emigration. 
The  Vaudois  at  this  period,  after  the  departure  of  the  French 
Protestants,  were  reduced  to  the  number  of  eleven  hundred  men 
able  to  bear  arms.  Such  were  the  effects  of  the  return  of  Victor 
Amadeus  to  an  alliance  with  France.  Political  considerations 
overpowered  the  better  feelings  of  his  heart.  The  Yaudois  were 
victims  to  his  plans  of  aggrandizement. 

An  alteration  in  the  politics  of  the  court  of  Savoy,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  eighteenth  century,  led  to  a  slight  amelioration 
in  the  condition  of  the  valleys.  Victor  Amadeus  escaped  from 
the  influence  of  Louis  XIV.  on  the  occasion  of  the  Spanish  suc- 
cession, and  entered  into  a  league  with  the  emperor  of  Germany 
and  the  two  great  Protestant  powers,  England  and  Holland,  to 
make  war  on  the  French  monarch.  It  may  be  supposed  that  in 
the  correspondence  of  the  allied  cabinets,  and  in  the  conferences 
of  the  ambassadors,  the  affairs  of  the  Vaudois  came  under  dis- 
cussion, and  that  the  intercession  of  the  Protestant  courts  was 
not  unavailing.  The  secret  articles  of  the  preceding  treaty  of 
alliance,  signed  at  the  Hague,  in  1691,  were  no  doubt  confirmed, 
by  which  the  duke  of  Savoy  guaranteed  to  the  Vaudois  the 
exercise  of  their  religion.  This  prince  also  approved  of  the  pro- 
tection granted  by  these  two  powers  to  the  churches  of  the  val- 
leys, and  permitted  the  transmission  of  foreign  subsidies  intended 
to  aid  their  poverty.  A  few  words  on  this  subject  may  be  pro- 
perly introduced  here. 

Queen  Mary,  the  consort  of  William  HI,  king  of  England, 
had  formed  a  fund, — the  interest  of  which  was  then  and  is  still 
called,  the  Royal  Subsidy,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  salaries 
of  the  pastors  of  the  valleys,  and  also  those  of  the  colony  of 
Wirtemberg.*  The  states-general  of  Holland  employed  the  in- 
terest of  a  fund  obtained  by  collections  throughout  the  states,  as 
well  as  the  amount  of  annual  collections,  for  the  payment  of  the 

*  It  has  been  said  that  since  the  wars  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  the 
pastors  of  the  Vaudois  settlements  in  Wirtemberg  cease  to  receive  their  sala- 
ries from  England.  Those  of  the  valleys  are  still  indebted  to  it  for  a  part  of 
their  maintenance.  We  may  add  that  in  1770,  the  liberal  collections  made  in 
Great  Britain  permitted  an  augmentation  of  the  pastors'  salaries  in  thevaDeys. 
The  interest  of  this  latter  fund  bore  the  name  of  the  National  Subsidy,  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  Royal  Subsidy  furnished  by  the  crown. 


THE  SIEGE  OF  TURIN.  355 

salaries  of  schoolmasters,  gratuities  to  superannuated  pastors,  and 
to  the  widows  of  pastors,  for  relieving  the  poor  of  each  church, 
and  also  for  the  support  of  a  Latin  school.  And  as  we  are  now 
on  the  subject  of  gifts  of  Christian  charity  made  at  this  time,  or  a 
few  years  before,  for  the  suffering  Vaudois,  we  must  not  forget 
the  bursaries  appropriated  by  the  evangelical  cantons  of  Switzer- 
land to  the  students  of  the  valleys  in  some  of  their  academies ; 
namely,  one  at  Bale,  five  at  Lausanne,  and  two  at  Geneva.  In 
this  last  city,  one  was  paid  by  the  state  out  of  the  funds  of  the 
general  hospital  ;*  the  second  proceeded  from  a  donation  made 
by  M.  Clignet,  postmaster  at  Leyden,  and  intrusted  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Italian  Exchange.f 

While  the  valleys,  in  consequence  of  their  prince's  taking  a 
part  in  the  coalition  against  France,  felt  themselves  less  oppressed 
by  the  restraints  of  a  hateful  fanaticism  which  that  power  then 
displayed  towards  evangelical  Christians,  their  militia,  enlisted 
under  his  banners,  acquitted  themselves  with  the  greatest  credit. 
The  war  that  Victor  Amadeus  had  to  sustain  against  his  ancient 
ally  was  long  and  disadvantageous  to  his  arms.  His  personal 
courage,  his  perseverance  in  the  contest,  and  great  efforts,  could 
not  save  him  from  being  crushed  under  the  strokes  of  his  formi- 
dable neighbour.  He  saw  himself  deprived  of  the  greater  number 
of  his  fortified  places,  and  at  last,  in  1706,  was  besieged  in  his 
capital,  Turin.  The  recital  of  the  vicissitudes  of  this  siege  does 
not  enter  into  the  plan  of  this  history,  yet  we  must  mention  an 
episode  in  it  which  is  strictly  connected  with  our  subject.  The 
labours  of  the  siege  were  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  flight  of 
the  duke  of  Savoy,  who  left  the  city  at  the  head  of  a  body  of 
cavalry.  The  French  general,  the  duke  de  la  Feuillade,  pur- 
sued him  with  a  party  of  the  besiegers,  reckoning  upon  getting 
possession  of  his  person.  In  fact,  more  than  once  Victor  Ama- 
deus was  closely  pressed,  and  in  imminent  danger.  Having 
almost  reached  Saluzzo,  he  proceeded  to  the  left  of  the  Po,  and 
took  refuge  in  the  mountains,  among  his  faithful  Vaudois.  Let 
us  here  quote  the  words  of  the  Count  de  Saluzzo,  who  was,  after 
all,  no  great  friend  to  the  Vaudois : — 

*  This  bursary  ceased  in  1798 ;  those  of  Lausanne  were  partially  interrupted, 
and  afterwards  re-established  for  a  time. 

t  These  details  are  extracted  from  a  little  work,  entitled,  Le  Livre  de  Famille, 
(The  Family  Book,)  Geneva,  1830,  by  the  ancient  moderator  of  the  Vaudois 
churches,  P.  Bert,  who,  from  his  office,  might  be  expected  to  know  them. 


356  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

"  The  object  of  Victor  Amadeus  was,"  he  says,  "  to  encourage 
M.  de  la  Feuillade  to  run  after  him.  He  fell  back  to  Lucerna. 
The  Vaudois  joined  hirn  in  great  numbers.  He  was  so  well 
fortified  in  the  position  he  chose,  that  the  French  general,  after 
advancing  as  far  as  Bricherasco,  gave  up  the  design  of  encoun- 
tering him."*  The  Piedmontese  historian  notices  the  fact  of  the 
stay  of  Victor  Amadeus  in  the  midst  of  the  Vaudois,  and  the  zeal 
of  the  latter  to  surround  his  person,  in  order  to  defend  him  unto 
death ;  but  he  does  not  say,  what,  nevertheless,  we  cannot  pass 
over  in  silence,  that  the  duke  reposed  at  night  under  the  roof 
of  a  Vaudois,  in  the  midst  of  the  humble  population  of  Rora. 
Thus  this  enlightened  prince  appreciated  and  estimated  at  its 
proper  value  the  honesty  and  perfect  fidelity  of  his  evangelical 
subjects,  whom  the  popish  perfidy  and  hatred  of  Louis  XIV., 
though  they  had  been  so  long  attached  to  him,  had  represented 
as  enemies  of  his  person  and  kingdom,  and  whom  he  had  treated 
with  excessive  rigour  twenty  years  before.  The  confidence  dis- 
played on  this  occasion  by  Victor  Amadeus  did  as  much  honour 
to  his  judgment  as  to  the  simple  and  faithful  men  to  whom  it  was 
given.  The  family  of  Durand  Canton,  to  whom  the  privilege 
belonged  of  offering  hospitality  to  their  sovereign,  preserve  irre- 
fragable proofs  of  it ;  namely,  the  goblet  and  silver  service  he 
made  use  of,  which  he  left  as  a  memorial  of  his  visit,  as  well  as 
an  authentic  act,  authorizing  the  family  who  received  him  to 
bury  their  dead  in  their  garden.  During  the  retreat  of  the 
French,  who  were  at  last  beaten  by  prince  Eugene  under  the 
walls  of  Turin,  and  constrained  to  flee  after  having  raised  the 
siege  of  that  city,  the  Vaudois  gave  a  second  mark  of  devotion 
to  their  sovereign,  by  not  sparing  themselves  in  the  pursuit. 
"  The  French  army,"  says  the  Count  of  Saluzzo,  "  took  the  route 
to  Dauphine,  which  it  did  not  reach  without  experiencing  fresh 
losses,  having  been  continually  harassed  on  its  march  by  the 
Vaudois  soldiers,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  de  Saint- 
Amour."f 

The  peace  of  Utrecht  in  1713,  so  advantageous  to  Victor 
Amadeus,  whose  dominions  it  increased,  while  putting  on  his 
head  a  royal  crown,  that  of  Sicily,  exchanged  some  years  after- 

*  Histoire  Militaire,  t.  v,  p.  189. 

t  Histoire  Militaire,  t.  v,  p.  212.  The  Vaudois  signalized  themselves  by  other 
feats  of  arms  in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 


LETTER  OF  FREDERICK  WILLIAM  OF  PRUSSIA.     357 

wards,  rather  by  constraint,  for  that  of  Sardinia,  tended  in- 
evitably to  bring  back  that  attention  and  activity  to  the  interior 
■which  had  been  expended  outwardly  on  a  contest  of  the  most 
serious  importance.  Political  prejudices  were  again  in  action 
against  the  existence  of  a  religious  confession  different  from  that 
of  the  generality.  The  secret  enemies  of  the  Vaudois  and  of  the 
reformed  religion  impelled  the  government  to  some  vexatious 
and  even  unjust  measures.  In  the  first  class  we  may  mention 
the  obligation  imposed  on  all  the  Vaudois  churches  to  observe 
as  holy  days  all  the  numerous  festivals  ordained  by  the  Romish 
church,  contrary  to  their  ancient  usages,  and  notwithstanding 
the  absence  of  antecedent  legal  arrangements ;  so  also  the  dif- 
ficulties, or  rather  direct  hindrances,  put  by  the  custom-house  in 
the  way  of  the  admission  of  the  books  necessary  for  the  services 
of  religion ;  and  the  refusal  to  admit  any  Vaudois  to  the  office 
of  notary :  also  many  grievances  which  have  been  constantly  re- 
peated since  that  time.  Another  measure  taken  against  the 
Vaudois  may  be  cited  as  evidently  unjust,  namely,  that  which 
constrained  the  Vaudois  parents,  whose  child  might  have  passed 
over  to  popery,  to  provide  him  with  a  maintenance,  or  to  give 
him  his  legal  portion,  both  of  personal  and  real  property ;  an 
unjust  measure,  for  it  tended  to  weaken  parental  authority,  to 
give  an  advantage  to  vicious  and  rebellious  children,  and  to  re- 
duce aged  persons  to  indigence,  by  depriving  them  of  property 
without  which  they  could  not  make  shift  to  live.  These  ex- 
actions and  severities  drew  forth  complaints  from  the  population 
of  the  valleys.  They  had  recourse  to  the  benevolence  and  justice 
of  their  sovereign ;  but  whatever  methods  they  took,  however 
humble  the  petitions  they  addressed  to  him,  no  success  attended 
their  efforts. 

At  this  juncture,  a  monarch,  whose  august  house  had  con- 
stantly given  the  Vaudois  proofs  of  its  enlightened  and  Christian 
benevolence,  Frederick  William  I.,  king  of  Prussia,*  interceded 

*  The  letter  of  the  king  of  Prussia  to  the  king  of  Sardinia :— "  Sir,  my  Brother,— 
Affected  as  I  am  with  the  present  mournful  situation  of  the  Protestant  churches 
in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  I  cannot  forbear  addressing  these  lines  to  you  on 
their  behalf,  hoping  that  your  majesty  will  receive  them  more  favourably,  since 
you  will  easily  judge,  by  the  affection  you  feel  towards  those  who  profess  the 
same  religion  as  yourself,  that  I  must  have  the  same  tender  regard  for  the  said 
churches,  and  that  their  preservation  and  tranquillity  can  never  be  indifferent 
to  me. 


358  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

in  their  favour,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1725.  The  answer 
of  Victor  Amadeus,  although  evasive,  expressed  friendly  dis- 
positions towards  them.  These  were  also  shown  in  a  subsequent 
act,  which  will  soon  come  under  our  notice,  without  its  being 
possible  to  say  that  they  materially  modified  the  condition  of  the 
victims  of  popish  prejudices,  or  that  they  much  weakened  the 
opposition  of  a  jealous  religion,  which  never  ceased  to  hold  up 
to  their  prince  as  dangerous  subjects,  men  whose  blood  had  re- 
cently been  spilt  in  his  service.  The  principles  of  an  enlarged 
toleration  never  prevailed  in  the  administration  of  the  Vaudois 
affairs,  and  at  this  time  so  much  the  less,  when  the  government 

"  I  cannot  believe  that  the  complaints  of  these  poor  churches  have  reached 
your  majesty,  or,  if  they  have,  that  they  have  been  represented  so  as  to  do  them 
complete  justice  ;  for  every  one  knows  that  your  majesty  is  too  generous  to  be 
able  to  refuse  remedying  the  grievances  of  a  people  who,  on  many  important 
occasions,  have  shed  their  blood  and  sacrificed  their  property  in  the  service  of 
your  majesty,  and  that  with  so  much  bravery  and  fidelity,  that  your  majesty  has 
always  appeared  satisfied. 

"  Relying  on  these  testimonies,  I  promise  myself  that  your  majesty  will  be 
well  pleased,  as  I  earnestly  entreat,  to  continue  your  royal  protection  and  be- 
nevolence to  the  aforesaid  Protestant  churches,  and  allow  them  peaceably  to 
enjoy  the  edicts  already  published  in  their  favour,  and  especially  that  of  the  23d 
of  May,  1694,  in  contravention  of  which  it  has  been  attempted  to  oblige  the 
said  Protestant  churches,  under  rigorous  penalties,  to  observe  all  the  feasts  ap- 
pointed by  the  Romish  Church,  which  is  a  proceeding  directly  contrary  to  that 
liberty  of  conscience,  of  which,  as  your  majesty  knows,  no  prince  can  deprive 
his  subjects  without  committing  extreme  violence,  and  without  encroaching 
even  on  the  rights  reserved  for  the  Divine  Majesty,  to  whom  alone  belongs  the 
dominion  over  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men. 

"The  ordinance  published  under  your  majesty's  name,  that  the  Protestant 
Vaudois  must  furnish  the  children  who  have  abjured  the  religion  of  their  fathers 
with  a  maintenance,  or  give  them  their  legal  share  of  the  real  and  personal 
property  of  their  parents,  cannot  be  less  severe  nor  less  contrary  than  the 
above-mentioned  to  Divine  and  human  laws,  since  it  inspires  Protestant  chil- 
dren with  sentiments  of  insubordination,  and  withdraws  them  from  the  obedience 
due  to  their  fathers  and  mothers,  reducing  the  latter,  at  the  same  time,  to  an 
impossibility  of  maintaining  themselves ;  especially  when  their  property  lies 
entirely  in  land,  or  they  are  constrained  to  part  with  many  portions  of  their  pro- 
perty, to  make  them  over  to  their  children,  who  may  have  been  seduced  to 
abandon  the  Protestant  religion. 

"  I  beg  also  your  majesty  to  be  assured,  that  of  all  the  marks  of  friendship  you 
are  able  to  give  me,  that  of  paying  attention  to  my  intercession  for  the  said 
Protestant  churches  will  always  be  to  me  the  most  agreeable,  and  the  one  for 
which  I  shall  feel  most  sensibly  obliged.  I  shall  with  pleasure  avail  myself  of 
every  opportunity  to  testify  my  lively  gratitude,  and  to  prove  to  your  majesty 
the  sincerity  and  high  consideration  with  which  I  am,  etc. 

"  Berlin,  Jan.  6,  1725.  Frederick  William." 

(Vide  Dieterici,  p.  396.) 


NEW   VEXATIONS.  359 

was  resolved  to  take  very  severe  measures  against  the  evangelical 
Christians  of  another  part  of  his  majesty's  states,  namely,  that 
of  Pragela,  annexed  to  the  Piedmontese  territory  by  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht. 

In  spite  of  the  fury  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  the  violent  emigration 
to  which,  in  1C98,  he  had  forced  more  than  three  thousand  Pro- 
testants of  that  country,  there  still  remained  in  the  valley  of 
Pragela  some  hundreds  of  persons,  who,  although  less  fervent  in 
their  faith,  and  less  disposed  to  sacrifice  their  lives  for  it,  cither 
by  exile,  or  openly  confessing  their  religion,  nevertheless  pre- 
served in  secret  the  hopes,  the  belief,  and  the  worship  of  the 
gospel.  Passing  under  the  dominion  of  Savoy  in  1713,  and 
seeing  that  their  brethren  in  the  faith  and  neighbours  in  the 
valleys  of  Lucerna  and  San  Martino  enjoyed  the  exercise  of 
their  religion,  they  took  courage,  put  off  all  dissimulation,  and 
assembled  frequently  for  edification  in  the  temple  of  their  bre- 
thren. For  some  time,  their  return  to  the  faith  of  their  an- 
cestors was  unnoticed,  both  by  the  Vaudois  and  their  neighbours. 
But  Romish  susceptibility  and  the  traditional  policy  of  the 
government  now  took  the  alarm  at  their  boldness,  and  brought 
it  to  an  issue  in  1730.  An  edict  constrained  them  to  choose 
between  a  fresh  abjuration  and  exile.  A  friendly  attempt  at 
mediation  on  the  part  of  the  king  of  Prussia  with  the  king  of 
Sardinia  could  not  ward  off  the  blow.  Three  hundred  and  sixty 
individuals,  recovered  from  their  former  fall,  and  animated  with 
the  love  of  the  Lord,  not  feeling  themselves  at  liberty  in  their 
consciences  to  deny  their  faith,  decided  on  the  latter  alternative. 
They  arrived  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud  in  the  course  of  May,  1 730. 
The  government  of  Berne  received  them  with  the  same  charity 
which  it  had  displayed  towards  their  unfortunate  brethren  in 
the  preceding  century.  A  part  of  them  settled  there ;  the  rest 
rejoined  their  relatives  who  were  settled  in  Wirtemberg  or  else- 
where. 

All  the  friends  of  the  gospel  in  Pragela  did  not  emigrate.  The 
weak  dissembled  afresh,  and  went  to  mass.  In  secret,  they  con- 
tinued to  read  the  word  of  God.  After  the  end  of  the  century, 
the  author  of  this  work,  then  a  student,  having  requested  hos- 
pitality at  a  house  in  the  valley,  met  with  a  cordial  reception  as 
one  preparing  to  be  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  "  We  have  the 
Bible — we  read  it,"  they  said ;  and  placed  the  precious  antique 


360  HISTORY  OP  THE  VAUDOIS. 

volume  before  him-  It  is  not  very  long  since  that  the  popish 
authorities,  jealous  of  the  sacred  book,  seized  and  burned  all 
the  copies  they  could  discover  in  the  valleys.  The  last  victory 
over  the  truth — to  burn  the  Bible  in  the  nineteenth  century  ! — 
Spirit  of  Rome !  thou  art  always  the  same. 

In  this  same  year,  1730,  Victor  Amadeus  II.  was  urged  by 
the  French  court  to  severe  measures  against  the  French  Pro- 
testants who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  valleys,  and  by  Pope  Cle- 
ment XII.  to  punish  the  relapsed  and  renegades,  with  the  threat, 
that  if  his  wishes  were  not  complied  with,  he  would  dissolve  the 
advantageous  concordat  that  then  existed  between  him  and  the 
court  of  Turin.  Being  thus  prompted,  Victor  published,  on  the 
20th  June,  a  severe  edict  against  three  classes  of  persons,  in 
which  also  are  to  be  found  some  arrangements  respecting  the 
churches  of  the  valleys.  The  French  Protestants,  whom  the 
toleration  granted  to  the  Vaudois,  and  their  vicinity  to  them,  had 
attracted  thither,  were  ordered  to  leave  his  majesty's  dominions 
within  six  months,  under  pain  of  flogging,  and  afterwards  five 
years  at  the  galleys.  The  Vaudois  who  should  give  them  an 
asylum  would  receive  the  estrapado*  for  the  first  offence,  and 
for  the  second  a  public  flogging.  Catholics  who  had  embraced 
Protestantism,  and  Vaudois  who  had  become  Catholics,  but  had 
returned  to  their  former  profession,  were  to  receive  a  similar 
sentence.  The  same  threats  were  held  out  to  those  who  should 
conceal  them.  In  vain  the  compassionate  monarch  who  reigned 
over  Prussia  requested  a  full  toleration  in  favour  of  the  converts 
from  Catholicism,  referring  on  their  behalf  to  the  edict  of  paci- 
fication of  1694:  Victor  Amadeus  remained  inflexible.  About 
five  hundred  proselytes,  now  steadfast  and  unflinching  at  the 
thoughts  of  exile,  took,  at  the  beginning  of  the  winter  of  1 730, 
the  road  to  Geneva,  where  they  arrived  in  the  course  of  De- 
cember. 

Victor  Amadeus,  though  personally  recovered  from  his  pre- 
judices against  the  Vaudois,  and  convinced  of  their  fidelity,  as 
well  as  of  the  other  moral  qualities  that  distinguished  them,  did 
not  grant  them  much  greater  liberties  than  his  predecessors. 
Yet,  if  he  did  not  show  entire  tolerance,  if  he  established  re- 

*  A  punishment  in  which  the  person  was  raised  by  his  hands  tied  behind  his 
back,  and  then  let  fall  with  a  slight  concussion,  once,  twice,  or  more,  as  the 
case  might  be. 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  361 

strictions  of  many  kinds  on  the  extension,  rather  than  on  the 
maintenance  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  increase  of  the 
evangelical  population  in  the  three  ancient  valleys  and  in  that 
of  Pragela,  we  must  allow  that  it  was  owing  to  the  incessant 
solicitations  of  the  eternal  enemies  of  the  Vaudois,  and  the  re- 
quirements of  his  warlike  and  powerful  neighbour  of  France. 
Let  us  acknowledge,  that  if  he  could  not  do  more  for  his  subjects, 
whose  services  and  characters  were  misapprehended,  he  had  at 
least  the  merit  of  fixing  definitively,  with  a  firm  hand,  the  civil 
and  religious  positions  of  the  Vaudois,  by  confirming  the  ancient 
edicts  which  determined  it,  and  promulgating  new  ones.  By 
these  measures,  if  the  condition  of  the  descendants  of  the  martyrs 
remained  low,  humbled,  and  straitened,  yet  it  escaped,  forever, 
it  may  be  hoped,  from  arbitrariness  and  uncertainty. 

Under  the  reign  of  Charles  Emmanuel  III.,  who  ascended  the 
throne  in  1730,  on  the  voluntary  abdication  of  his  father, 
Victor  Amadeus  II.,  the  senate  of  Turin  published,  in  1 740,  a 
summary  of  the  edicts  concerning  the  Vaudois,  in  twenty-six 
articles,  to  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  judicial  and  executive  autho- 
rities. This  publication  might  be  considered  as  a  new  royal 
benefit.  For  if  it  notified  to  the  magistrates  the  restrictions  im- 
posed on  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  the  Vaudois,  it 
established,  on  the  other  hand,  the  rights  that  were  conceded  to 
them  by  their  sovereign,  and  thus  rendered  their  position  more 
stable  for  the  future. 

Henceforward,  under  the  reign  of  Charles-Emmanuel  III.,  and, 
after  that,  under  Victor  Amadeus  III.,  who  took  the  crown  in 
1773,  until  the  time  of  the  French  revolution,  few  striking  events 
interrupted  the  course  of  the  uniform  life  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  valleys.  We  may,  however,  cite,  as  a  title  to  the  favour  of 
their  sovereign,  the  brilliant  courage  which  they  exhibited  at  the 
siege  of  Coni,  in  1 747,  and  at  the  batde  of  Assiette,  in  1 74  7,  which 
was  lost  by  the  French ;  renowned  actions,  which  have  claimed 
the  praises  of  military  men  *  as  well  as  the  esteem  of  Charles- 
Emmanuel  III.,  who  called  them  his  brave  and  faithful  Vaudois.f 
Why  are  we  obliged  to  add,  in  spite  of  the  proofs  of  love  and 
devotion  on  the  part  of  the  subjects,  and  of  esteem  on  the  part 

*  Ilistoirc  Militaire,  by  the  count  of  Saluzzo,  t.  v,  p.  213. 
t  This  royal  expression  was  quoted,  with  the  facts  we  have  narrated,  in  a 
petition  presented,  in  1814,  to  Count  Cerutti.  minister  of  his  Sardinian  majcM  v. 

16 


362  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

of  the  sovereign,  the  Vaudois  frequently  saw  their  children  taken 
away  by  the  artifices  of  priests  and  monks,  sometimes  even  by 
violence,  without  any  possibility  of  obtaining  justice ;  and  them- 
selves forced  to  contribute  to  the  expenses  of  the  Romish  worship, 
to  pay  tithes,  first-fruits,  and  other  things  besides,  to  parish  priests,* 
contrary  to  the  express  words  of  the  royal  edicts,  which  relieved 
them  from  such  burdens  ? 

Such  was  the  success  which  the  papal  power  had  obtained  in 
the  valleys,  when,  in  1789,  the  sound  of  the  first  movement  of 
the  French  revolution  was  heard  in  Piedmont.  The  Alps  could 
not  arrest  the  progress  of  the  new  ideas,  which,  after  fermenting 
and  threatening  for  a  long  time,  at  length  found  vent  in  a  sudden 
explosion.  Attractive  and  dazzling  theories,  promises  of  liberty 
and  happiness,  proclaimed  in  tones  that  were  everywhere  au- 
dible, inflamed  the  minds  of  men,  and  wrapped  their  hearts  in 
pleasing  illusions.  In  their  conversations,  in  the  social  circle, 
nothing  was  talked  of  but  the  events  that  were  transpiring  be- 
yond the  Alps.  A  pastor  of  the  valleys  ventured  to  make  an 
allusion  to  them,  in  a  sermon  preached  before  the  assembled  sy- 
nod, in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  1 789.  His  brethren,  being 
disturbed  at  the  possible  effects  that  so  imprudent  a  discourse 
might  produce  on  public  opinion,  as  well  as  the  evils  which  it 
might  bring  on  the  Yaudois  population  from  the  ruling  powers, 
exerted  their  right  of  discipline,  and  suspended  the  indiscreet 
orator  from  his  functions  for  six  months.  This  decision  was  equal- 
ly wise  and  just ;  for  the  preacher  had  violated  his  duty  as  a  sub- 
ject of  the  king,  by  attracting  attention  to  questions  hostile  to 
his  government,  and  as  a  pastor,  by  introducing  politics  into  the 
pulpit. 

Such  a  fact  sets  in  a  clearer  light  than  any  words  would  do, 
the  spirit  that  animated  the  valleys  at  this  critical  epoch.  The 
emotions  of  the  heart  spoke  in  favour  of  the  new  principles  pro- 
claimed in  France ;  but  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  authorities  pre- 
vented the  faithful  subject  from  receiving  and  propagating  them. 
The  heart,  in  some  persons,  prevailed  over  a  traditional  submis- 
sion. Nevertheless,  we  shall  not  depart  from  the  truth  in  saying, 
that  it  would  have  been  difficult,  under  such  circumstances,  for 
men  so  little  favoured  by  the  government  as  the  Vaudois  had 

*  Tableau  du  Piemont,  (Picture  of  Piedmont,)  by  Maranda,  Turin,  the  year  xi, 
p.  32.    Memoirs  and  petitions  presented  in  1814  to  Count  C'erutti. 


UNJUST  ACCUSATIONS.  368 

been,  to  have  given  greater  proofs  of  prudence  and  moderation. 
Perceiving  the  delicacy  of  their  situation,  they  took  the  greatest 
pains  to  prevent  and  to  avoid  everything  that  might  commit  them. 

This  conduct  ensured  to  them  the  confidence  of  their  sovereign, 
who,  in  1792,  called  them  to  take  arms  for  the  defence  of  their 
frontiers.  And  when,  in  the  following  year,  Victor  Amadeus 
III.,  being  despoiled  by  the  French  of  two  of  his  most  beautiful 
provinces,  Savoy  and  Nice,  resolved  to  act  on  the  offensive  and 
attack  the  enemy,  he  intrusted  the  protection  of  the  valleys  of 
Lucerna  and  San  Martino  to  the  fidelity  of  the  Vaudois,  com- 
manded by  one  of  their  officers,  colonel  Maranda,  under  the  or- 
ders of  general  Gaudin,  also  a  Protestant  and  a  Swiss,  from 
Nyon,  on  the  lake  of  Geneva. 

The  French,  who  were  aware  how  precarious  and  exposed  the 
situation  of  this  poor  people  had  been,  believed  that  they  should 
find  no  difficulty  in  impelling  them  to  revolt,  to  surrender  the 
passes,  and  to  make  common  cause  with  them.  They  were  de- 
ceived. The  Vaudois  esteemed  fidelity  to  their  oath,  even  in 
their  depressed  condition,  preferable  to  the  splendid  hopes  of 
civil,  political,  and  religious  liberty,  if  acquired  by  perjury.  Yet 
this  admirable  conduct  could  not  silence  calumny,  nor  stifle  all 
suspicion.  How  could  it  be  credited,  that  men,  so  often  ill-treated 
on  account  of  their  religion,  would  refrain  from  avenging  them- 
selves, and  refuse  the  emancipation  that  was  promised  them? 
They  were,  accordingly,  accused  of  lending  an  ear  to  the  pro- 
posals of  the  enemy.  Some  unfortunate  facts  gave  a  colour  to 
these  rumours.  The  Vaudois  militia  had  given  way  at  some 
points ;  the  fort  of  Mirabouc,  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley  of  Lu- 
cerna, in  the  gorge  of  the  only  pass  that  leads  to  France,  had 
surrendered  ;*  and  though  the  investigation  ordered  on  this  oc- 
casion had  proved  in  the  clearest  manner  the  innocence  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  valleys,f  the  exasperation  resulting  from  these 

*  A  Swiss  officer,  named  Mesmer,  commanded.  He  was  ill,  and  the  place  was 
badly  provided  with  the  means  of  defence.  One  of  the  two  cannons  burst,  when 
the  match  was  applied,  on  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  The  garrison  was  com- 
posed of  one-half  company  of  Vaudois  and  one-half  of  Piedmontese  invalids. 
Mesmer  was  intimidated,  and  capitulated.  But  if  timid,  he  acted,  nevertheless, 
with  good  faith ;  for,  after  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  he  set  out  for  Turin  to  ex- 
plain his  conduct,  and  was  there  beheaded.    V.  Tableau  du  Piemont,  t.  v,  p.  166. 

t  Musset,  the  only  Vaudois  officer  in  the  fort,  opposed  the  capitulation  to  the 
utmost ;  he  thought  the  place  might  have  been  defended. 


364  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

suspicions  had  grown  to  such  a  height,  that,  by  the  aid  of  fanati- 
cism, it  ripened  among  the  papists  of  the  environs  into  the  de- 
testable project  of  a  second  St.  Bartholomew,  of  which  the  Yau- 
dois  of  San  Giovanni  and  La  Torre  were  to  be  the  victims. 

All  the  men  of  these  two  communes,  able  to  bear  arms,  were 
on  the  mountains,  occupied  in  guarding  the  frontiers ;  none  re- 
mained in  their  dwellings  on  the  plain  but  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, with  the  sick  and  aged ;  feeble  defenders !  The  enterprise, 
therefore,  was  not  a  dangerous  one.  On  the  night  of  the  14th 
and  15th  of  May,  1 793,  a  troop  of  assassins  assembled  at  Lucerna, 
intending  at  a  given  signal  to  invade  these  two  districts,  and  put  all 
to  fire  and  sword.  The  plot  had  been  so  secretly  arranged  that 
not  a  Yaudois  knew  of  it.  Two  Catholics,  one  an  ecclesiastic, 
the  respectable  Brianza,  the  parish  priest  of  Lucerna,  and  cap- 
tain Odetti,  of  Cavor,  gave  them  notice  of  it.  The  latter,  when 
he  reached  the  house  of  his  friend,  M.  P^ul  Vertu,  at  La  Torre, 
said,  on  entering,  "  I  am  come  here  to  defend  you  and  yours,  to 
the  last  drop  of  my  blood."  He  then  detailed  the  dreadful  plot 
in  which  he  had  refused  to  take  a  part.  Several  messengers  were 
immediately  despatched  to  the  mountains,  to  the  husbands  and 
brothers  of  the  intended  victims.  General  Gaudin,  when  urged 
to  let  them  fly  to  the  defence  of  their  families,  refused  to  believe 
in  the  existence  of  so  odious  a  project ;  but  the  list  of  the  con- 
spirators, to  the  number  of  more  than  seven  hundred,  which  was 
placed  before  his  eyes,  put  an  end  to  his  incredulity.  Yet  if  on 
the  one  hand  he  could  not  resolve  to  deprive  so  many  innocent 
creatures  of  their  natural  defenders,  on  the  other,  he  knew  not 
how  to  detach  a  sufficient  force  from  his  division,  without  ex- 
posing himself  to  be  overpowered  by  the  French,  or  how  to  allow 
the  Yaudois  to  withdraw,  without  awakening  the  suspicions  of 
the  Piedmontese  troops  with  whom  they  were  associated.  A 
stratagem  relieved  him  from  his  embarrassment.  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  fatal  night,  towards  the  close  of  the  day,  a  false  alarm 
was  given ;  a  shout  resounded  on  the  heights,  "  The  French !  the 
French !"  followed  very  soon  by  "  Sauve  qui  peut !"  ("  Save 
himself  who  can !")  The  Yaudois  first  quitted  their  elevated 
post,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  sharp  fire  of  musketry  sounded  a  re- 
treat, as  if  the  enemy  were  pursuing  them.  The  Piedmontese 
troops,  who  were  stationed  between  them  and  the  bottom  of  the 
valley,  seeing  this,  began  in  their  turn  a  retrograde  movement, 


PROJECT  OP  A  MASSACRE  ABANDONED.  365 

and  threw  themselves  into  La  Torre  and  San  Giovanni,  which 
they  occupied  for  the  night.  The  conspirators,  frightened  at  the 
pretended  aggression  of  the  French,  abandoned  their  infernal 
project.  Gaudin  being  called  to  Turin  to  render  an  account  of 
his  conduct,  justified  himself  by  presenting  the  proofs  of  the  con- 
spiracy and  the  list  of  the  conspirators.  The  documentary  evi- 
dence could  not  be  rebutted ;  it  was  absolute.  But  he  was  at 
the  same  time  withdrawn  from  the  valleys,  and  not  long  afte/  dis- 
missed from  the  service ;  his  superior  humanity  lost  him  the  con- 
fidence of  the  court.  Of  the  assassins,  not  one  was  punished ; 
none  of  them  were  even  sought  for. 

The  government  being  disquieted  and  suspicious,  and  imagin- 
ing that  the  French  were  in  communication  with  the  valleys, 
thought  it  needful  to  take  very  severe  measures.  A  Vaudois, 
named  Davit,  an  artillery  officer  of  colonel  Fresia's,  who  had 
succeeded  general  Gaudin  in  the  command,  was  given  up  by  his 
superior  to  a  court-martial,  and  hung  as  a  traitor.  The  two  offi- 
cers of  the  highest  rank  in  the  Vaudois  militia,  colonel  Maranda 
and  major  Goante,  were  also  thrown  in  prison.  Other  arrests 
were  talked  of  as  about  to  take  place ;  but  the  two  accused  indi- 
viduals were  able  to  demonstrate  their  own  innocence,  as  well 
as  that  of  their  friends  and  companions. 

The  liberation  of  Maranda  and  Goante,  their  restoration  to 
their  place,  and  the  superseding  of  Colonel  Fre*sia,  (who  had 
been  detested  ever  since  the  execution  of  Davit,)  by  a  Swiss 
officer,  General  Zimmermann,*  calmed  the  agitated  and  timid 
spirits  in  the  valleys,  by  showing  that  the  government,  being 
now  better  informed  as  to  the  real  facts  of  the  case,  had  re- 
nounced its  unjust  suspicions,  or,  at  least,  its  severity.  Confi- 
dence was  soon  restored.  Zimmermann,  though  a  Roman 
Catholic,  succeeded  in  gaining  the  general  affection. 

The  Vaudois,  taking  advantage  of  the  favourable  moment 
when  the  court  was  convinced  of  their  innocence,  accepted  the 
offer  made  by  the  general  of  becoming  their  agent  there. 
Through  his  intervention  they  transmitted  to  their  sovereign  a 
petition,  in  which,  after  just  protestations  of  attachment  to  hig 
person  and  dynasty,  they  requested  the  redress  of  certain  abuses, 

*  A  native  of  Lucerna,  formerly  colonel  of  the  Swiss  guards  at  Paris.  He  had 
escaped  the  massacre  of  the  10th  of  August,  and  had  lately  entered  the  service 
of  Piedmont, 


366  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

and  some  amelioration  in  their  political  condition.  Their  appli- 
cation was  not  altogether  unsuccessful.  The  duke  of  Aosta,  the 
king's  younger  son,  then  stationed  at  Pinerolo,  at  the  head  of  a 
division  of  the  army,  transmitted  a  most  gracious  answer  to  the 
petitioners,  in  which  it  was  said,  that  the  constant  and  dis- 
tinguished proofs  they  had  given  of  attachment  and  fidelity  to 
their  sovereigns,  and  the  sentiments  they  had  recently  expressed, 
in  offering  to  join  with  all  possible  zeal  the  force  intended  to 
repel  the  enemy,  had  disposed  the  king  to  receive  their  memo- 
rial favourably.  Nevertheless,  a  compliance  with  the  request 
for  an  equality  of  political  rights  with  those  of  his  other  subjects, 
was  deferred  till  the  arrival  of  peace.*  From  this  time,  how- 
ever, permission  was  generously  granted  to  have  physicians  of 
their  own  religion ;  measures  were  promised  to  be  taken  against 
the  abduction  of  children,  which  was  frequently  practised,  as 
well  as  the  introduction  of  unfit  Catholics  into  the  councils  of  the 
commune,  and  the  abolition  of  charges  and  imposts  that  affected 
the  Vaudois  alone.  We  perceive  that  the  royal  favours  did  not 
go  beyond  the  most  ordinary  requirements  of  justice,  and  yet 
the  prince,  and  even  the  Vaudois  themselves,  considered  them 
as  gracious  gifts,  it  having  been  so  much  the  practice  to  treat  the 
Vaudois  as  intruders,  barely  tolerated,  and  to  consider  their 
sharing  in  the  principal  advantages  which  all  the  rest  of  their 
fellow-subjects  enjoyed  as  an  extraordinary  benefaction. 

Peace  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1 796 ;  but  it  was  a  disastrous 
peace,f  which  wrested  from  the  king  some  of  his  most  beautiful 
provinces,  and  prostrated  him  under  the  overwhelming  influ- 
ence of  the  French  republic  and  the  young  general  of  the  army 
of  Italy,  Napoleon  Bonaparte.      A   new  king,  Charles  Em- 

*  We  naturally  ask,  would  not  this  concession  in  our  times,  if  made  to  a  popu- 
lation who  have  always  been  devoted  to  their  sovereign,  and  who  are  reduced 
to  the  necessity  of  seeing  their  active  youth  annually  dispersed  to  a  distance, 
be  politically  more  useful  to  the  state  than  troublesome  or  dangerous  ?  Is  it  to 
be  dreaded  on  religious  grounds,  when  we  see  everywhere  else  Catholics  and 
Protestants  living  together  in  peace  ? 

t  An  armistice  was  at  first  concluded  on  April  28,  1796,  at  Cherasco,  by  Gene- 
ral Bonaparte,  the  conqueror,  to  the  king's  plenipotentiaries.  Peace  was  sign- 
ed soon  after.  The  king  ceded  to  France  the  duchy  of  Savoy  and  the  county 
of  Nice  ;  he  consented  to  the  destruction  of  the  forts  of  Susa  and  Brunette,  and 
granted  to  France,  during  the  war,  the  occupation  of  Coni,  Tortona,  and  Alex- 
andria, as  well  as  the  free  passage  of  the  French  troops  in  their  marches.— 
Hist,  de  la  Bevol.  Franc.,  par  Thiers. 


TUMULTUARY  MOVEMENTS.  367 

manuel  IV.,  ascended  the  tottering  throne  of  his  deceased 
father,  on  October  10,  1796.  This  was  the  moment  for  grant- 
ing his  faithful  subjects  the  political  equality  which  they  sought, 
and  which  their  loyal  services  deserved.  The  British  ambas- 
sador seized  this  juncture  to  make  a  representation  in  their 
favour ;  but  all  he  could  obtain  was  a  confirmation  of  the  incon- 
siderable concessions  that  were  granted  three  years  before.  No ! 
we  are  mistaken;  the  royal  missive,  or  "bLUet,"  as  this  official 
document  was  termed,  contained  an  additional  favour — permis- 
sion to  repair  the  temples !  to  enlarge  them,  if  required ;  and 
(can  it  be  credited  ?  for  it  was  a  generous  act)  to  remove  them 
to  more  commodious  sites,  provided  their  number  were  not  in- 
creased, and  notice  were  given  to  the  intendant  of  the  province, 
in  order  that  he  might  give  the  necessary  directions.* 

It  was  impossible  but  that  the  presence  of  the  French  army 
(it  is  well  known  that  the  army  of  Italy  numbered  in  its  ranks 
the  most  enthusiastic  revolutionists)  would  excite  the  Piedmontese 
to  aim  at  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  feudal  servitude,  and  acquiring 
all  the  political  privileges  proclaimed  in  France  as  the  inherent 
right  of  man.  A  secret  agitation  was  rapidly  succeeded  by 
tumultuary  movements  in  towns  and  country  places,  as  far  even 
as  Moncalier,  at  the  very  gates  of  Turin.  Truth  requires  us  to 
avow  that  the  valleys  were  not  entirely  strangers  to  them.  A 
company  of  revolutionists,!  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna,  repaired  to 
Campiglione,  the  chateau  of  the  marquis  of  Rora,  one  of  their 
principal  lords,  and  requested  the  abolition  of  his  feudal  titles. 
"  My  friends,"  he  replied,  with  admirable  presence  of  mind  and 
courteousness,  "  if  there  be  any  of  my  titles  that  you  do  not  like, 
I  will  abandon  them  most  cheerfully,  with  the  exception  of  one, 
which  you  shall  not  deprive  me  of,  I  mean  my  title  of  friend  of 
the  Vaudois,  and  my  ancient  affection  for  my  dear  and  brave 
Vaudois  !"  These  words,  so  opportunely  uttered,  were  enough 
to  disarm  them.  They  retired  without  committing  the  slightest 
outrage. 

General  Zimmermann  was  sent  to  the  valleys,  ostensibly  to 
hear  the  wishes  of  the  communes,  but  in  reality  to  observe  how 
things  stood ;  and  received  orders,  soon  after  his  arrival,  to  make 
some  arrests.    In  Piedmont,  the  court  had  had  recourse  to  exe- 

*  Royal  letter,  Aug.  26,  1797. 

t  This  company  was  composed  of  Catholics  as  well  as  Vaudois. 


368  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

cutions,  by  way  of  example.  But  the  warrior  showed  himself  to 
be  the  friend  of  peace.  In  his  report  he  recommended  the 
adoption  of  mild  measures,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
them  approved ;  the  valleys  escaped  imprisonments  and  execu- 
tions. 

The  complicated  difficulties  of  the  times  rendered  the  weight 
of  his  crown  insupportable  to  Charles  Emmanuel.  He  signed  a 
solemn  act  of  abdication  on  December  9th,  1798.  France  left 
him  the  possession  of  Sardinia.  From  that  day,  Piedmont  was 
regarded  and  administered  as  a  French  province.  This  event, 
in  which  moreover  the  Vaudois  had  taken  no  part,  put  them  in 
a  position  they  had  never  before  enjoyed,  and  which  they  had 
never  dared  to  expect.  In  one  day,  and  as  if  by  magic,  they  beheld 
the  downfall  of  all  the  prohibitory,  humiliating,  and  restrictive 
laws  under  which  they  had  so  long  groaned.  The  barrier  which 
had  enclosed  them  within  such  narrow  limits,  which  had  con- 
demned them  to  be  crowded  in  some  isolated  valleys,  was 
thrown  down.  A  free  field  was  opened  to  their  industry  and 
activity,  which  hitherto  had  been  shackled.  From  being  despised 
pariahs,  barbets,  hated  and  kept  at  a  distance  as  malefactors, 
they  saw  themselves  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  their 
haughtiest  persecutors.  A  people  who  had  been  regarded  as 
intruders,  and  were  tolerated  only  at  pleasure,  were  now  be- 
come citizens  like  the  rest.  Men  who  had  been  treated  as 
spurious  children  of  the  state  had  at  length  obtained  a  recogni- 
tion of  their  legitimacy.  In  one  day,  and  by  a  single  act,  with- 
out their  will  being  consulted,  every  species  of  liberty  had  been 
secured  to  them ;  and,  what  was  more  precious  to  them  than  all 
the  rest,  they  were  put  in  possession,  without  any  reserve,  of 
that  religious  liberty,  the  right  of  serving  God  according  to  their 
consciences,  for  which  they  had  toiled  and  shed  their  blood  for 
centuries. 

But,  as  if  to  instruct  them  that  the  preservation  or  prosperity 
of  the  Christian  life  is  not  dependent  on  political  circumstances, 
scarcely  was  the  French  domination  established  in  Piedmont 
before  it  was  exposed  to  the  most  imminent  dangers.  The  army 
of  Italy  being  attacked  in  the  spring  of  1799  by  Suwarrow,  at 
the  head  of  the  Russians  and  Austrians,  was  forced  to  retreat 
precipitately  in  the  midst  of  a  population  excited  against  it,  and 
soon  roused  to  fanaticism.     At  this  difficult  moment,  the  Vau- 


THE  PASTOR  ROSTAING.  369 

dois  remained  faithful  to  the  power  at  that  time  established,  and 
obeyed  the  orders  of  their  superiors  to  descend  into  the  plain 
with  the  other  troops,  and  assail  Carmagnola,  the  head-quarters 
of  the  insurgents.  The  action  opened  with  a  terrible  discharge 
of  artillery ;  and  although  the  insurgents  had  intrenched  them- 
selves in  a  convent,  where  they  illuminated  the  Madonna,*  they 
were  crushed  by  the  bravery  of  the  Vaudois  and  the  regular 
troops.  General  Freissinet  levied  a  military  contribution.  This 
expedition  was  charged  as  a  crime  on  the  Vaudois ;  they  were 
accused  of  sacrilege  and  pillage.  But  how  could  they  be  held 
responsible  for  a  combat  in  which  they  engaged  only  in  obe- 
dience to  the  military  authority  which  they  still  recognized  ?  As 
to  sacrilege,  could  any  one  seriously  accuse  them  of  it  ?  Ought 
they  to  have  retreated  without  fighting,  and  received  a  murder- 
ous fire  from  the  convent  without  returning  it,  merely  because 
a  Madonna  with  lighted  tapers  had  been  placed  in  front  ?  As 
to  the  forced  contribution  levied  by  the  French  general,  we 
know  not  how  it  can  be  imputed  to  them.  If  any  individual 
cases  of  violence  are  referred  to,  supposing  them  to  have  occur- 
red, all  the  Vaudois  would  regret  them. 

A  second  fact  has  been  imputed  to  them  as  a  crime ;  let  the 
reader  judge :  we  give  it  without  comment.  Three  hundred 
wounded  French,  coming  from  Cavor,  and  fleeing  before  the 
Austrians,  arrived,  towards  the  end  of  May,  in  wagons,  at  the 
village  ofBobbio,  the  extreme  frontier  of  the  valley  of  Lucerna, 
on  the  side  of  France,  in  a  shocking  state  of  destitution  and  suf- 
fering. The  pastor  of  the  place,  Rostaing,  a  respectable  old 
man,  assisted  by  his  wife,  relieved  the  most  pressing  wants  of 
these  unfortunate  beings  as  far  as  he  could.f  A  calf, twenty-five 
loaves,  and  some  wine,  all  that  his  presbytery  contained,  were 
furnished  them  by  his  care.  The  parishioners  supplied  what 
was  deficient  from  their  slender  means.  The  sores  of  the 
wounded  were  dressed  and  bound ;  after  which  hundreds  of  men 
carried  them  into  France  in  their  arms,  or  on  their  shoulders,  a 

*  A  Madonna  is  an  image  of  the  holy  virgin.  It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that 
the  Roman  Catholics  worship  images,  and  look  upon  any  injury  done  to  them 
as  sacrilege. 

T  Colonel  Maranda,  in  his  work,  "  Tableau  du  Piemont,"  claims  the  honour 
of  the  plan  which  was  put  in  execution  under  his  direction  by  the  pastor  Ros- 
taing. It  may  be  as  he  says  ;  nevertheless,  the  devotedness  of  the  pastor  and 
the  people  ofBobbio  is  not  the  less  admirable. 

16* 


370  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

distance  of  ten  leagues,  over  a  lofty  defile,  along  precipices,  and 
in  the  midst  of  snows  which  were  impassable  to  beasts  of  bur- 
den. The  Vaudois  never  quitted  them  till  they  had  deposited 
them  in  safety,  in  the  hands  of  their  fellow-countrymen.  This 
fact  was  notified  to  the  French  army  in  an  order  of  the  day  by 
General  Suchet,*  who  sent  a  copy  of  it  to  the  pastor,  with  a 
very  flattering  letter. 

This  generous  action,  joined  to  the  vigorous  resistance  which 
the  Vaudois,  faithful  to  their  oaths,  made  to  the  last  against  the 
invasion  of  the  Austro-Russian  army,  and  to  their  defence  of  the 
government  which  had  taken  refuge  at  Perrier,  would  have 
brought  on  them  the  greatest  misfortunes,  if  God  had  not  sent 
the  prince  Bagration  from  the  centre  of  Russia  to  protect  them. 
In  the  midst  of  the  furious  clamours  of  the  Piedmontese,  who 
longed  to  lay  waste  the  valleys  with  fire  and  sword,  this  prince, 
an  aide-de-camp  of  Suwarrow,  was  able  to  ascertain  the  real  state 
of  things  ;f  he  understood  and  appreciated  the  line  of  conduct 
pursued  by  the  Vaudois.  "  They  are  under  the  protection  of 
the  marshal,"  (Suwarrow,)  replied  a  Russian  officer  to  the  head 
of  the  supreme  council  at  Turin,  who  was  reproaching  and 
threatening  the  deputies  of  the  Vaudois  valleys,  "  we  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  your  Piedmontese  antipathies." 

So  far  from  undertaking  anything  against  them,  the  Russians 
even  left  them  their  arms,  to  defend  themselves  in  case  of  an  at- 
tack ;  nothing  was  required  of  them  but  a  simple  promise  not  to 
employ  them  against  the  allied  troops. 

The  Vaudois,  for  about  a  year,  remained  placed  between  the 
belligerent,  armies.  Their  mountains  resounded  with  the  tramp 
of  foreign  troops  ;  and  more  than  once  with  a  vigorous  discharge 
of  musketry.  They  escaped,  however,  from  greater  evils  which 
menaced  them. 

The  year  1800  arrived.  The  first  consul  of  the  French  re- 
public, another  Hannibal,  crossed  the  Alps  at  the  head  of  a 
great  army,  to  throw  himself  on  the  Austrians  and  Piedmontese, 
who  fancied  themselves  in  security,  and  to  snatch  from  them  a 
victory  at  Marengo,  on  the  14th  of  June,  and  with  it  the  posses- 
sion of  the  richest  provinces.   Piedmont  once  more  passed  under 

*  Dated  at  the  head-quarters  at  La  Pietra,  3d  Frimaire,  year  8. 
t  It  is  not  impossible  that  England  had  recommended  the  Vaudois  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  generals  of  the  allied  powers. 


EXTREME  SCARCITY  AND  MISERY.  371 

the  domination  of  the  Frencri,  and  the  Vaudois  immediately 
enjoyed  the  privileges  of  which  they  had  only  just  caught  a 
glimpse. 

But  this  return  to  liberty  was  not,  after  all,  a  return  to  pros- 
perity and  happiness.  All  the  plain  and  the  valleys  presented 
at  this  time  a  more  wretched  spectacle  than  can  easily  be 
imagined.  An  extreme  scarcity,  added  to  the  pillaging  of  the 
soldiers  and  the  rapacity  of  the  commissaries,  both  French  and 
Austrian,  had  raised  the  price  of  provisions  so  extravagantly, 
that  hardly  any  money  could  procure  them.  The  poor  only 
existed  in  misery,  while  numbers  died  of  hunger. 

In  these  circumstances  the  financial  position  of  the  pastors 
became  very  critical.  The  Royal  English  Subsidy,  which  formed 
the  largest  part  of  their  income,  had  been  withdrawn  from  the 
time  they  became  the  subjects  of  France.  The  English  National 
Subsidy  continued  to  reach  them  but  irregularly  ;  the  share  of 
each  amounted  to  about  five  hundred  francs.  This  was  all  their 
salary ;  too  little,  certainly,  for  the  wants  of  a  family.  The 
devotedness  of  their  parishioners  exerted  itself  to  assist  them. 
In  more  than  one  locality,  the  elders  of  the  church  might  be 
seen  busy  in  calling  at  houses  to  procure  a  supply  of  bread  for 
the  pastors.  On  hearing  of  these  pressing  necessities,  the  execu- 
tive commission  of  Piedmont  took  measures,  well  intended,  but 
far  from  politic.  It  will  be  recollected  that  Roman  Catholic 
parishes  had  been  formed  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the 
valleys,  notwithstanding  the  extreme  fewness  of  the  flocks,  and 
property  and  rents  had  been  assigned  to  the  officiating  priests. 
The  executive  commission  provided  in  a  different  manner  for 
their  support ;  and  remitted  the  administration  of  these  proper- 
ties and  rents,  with  some  small  deductions,  to  Vaudois  modera- 
tors, to  defray  the  expenses  of  worship  and  instruction.  The 
administration  of  the  popish  institution  for  Vaudois  catechumens 
at  Pignerol,*  and  its  dependencies,  was  also  intrusted  to  them, 
as  a  pledge  that  henceforth  the  evangelical  people  of  the  valleys 
would  not  have  to  dread  the  seductions  and  violence  of  the 
papists ;  thus  giving  some  little  satisfaction  to  the  wounded  feel- 

*  In  this  institution  the  Vaudois  children  who  had  been  abducted  from  their 
parents  were  instructed  in  popery,  as  well  as  all  those  persons  who  could  be 
seduced  by  any  means  to  the  Romish  faith.  Since  the  restoration,  it  has  been 
used  for  its  original  purpose,  at  least  as  far  as  regards  the  latter  class. 


372  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

ings  of  the  Vaudois,  by  putting  the  persecuted  in  possession  of 
the  house  of  their  spiritual  oppressors.  It  is  lamentable  that 
they  should  have  provided  in  this  manner  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  pastors  and  schoolmasters ;  the  Catholics  looked  upon  it 
as  an  act  of  spoliation  and  hostility.  This  opinion  was  no  doubt 
unjust,  since  the  decision  was  made  by  the  existing  authorities, 
composed  moreover  of  Catholics,  and  not  by  the  Vaudois ;  but 
although  it  was  certainly  lawful  for  the  authorities  to  give  satis- 
faction to  a  Christian  church  that  had  been  long  oppressed,  it 
would  have  been  much  better  to  have  done  it  in  a  manner  less 
irritating  towards  the  party  that  was  thus  humiliated.  As  for 
the  rest,  it  is  merely  an  act  of  justice  to  state  that  during  the 
whole  time  of  the  French  domination,  the  pastors  and  their  flocks 
never  gave  occasion  to  the  priests  or  their  parishioners  to  com- 
plain of  their  conduct. 

The  ecclesiastical  administration  of  the  valleys  remained  the 
same  during  the  first  years  of  the  reunion  with  France ;  it  con- 
tinued as  in  time  past  in  the  hands  of  the  consistories,  the 
synod,  and  the  table,  or  superior  executive  commission.  It  was 
not  till  1805,  when  the  emperor  was  on  his  way  to  Turin,  that 
the  assimilation  of  these  churches  to  the  other  Protestant  churches 
of  the  French  empire  was  projected,*  and -some  months  later  it 
was  definitively  settled  by  a  decree  of  the  6th  of  Thermidor,f  in 
the  year  13.  According  to  this  decree,  the  different  churches 
were  arranged  in  three  consistories ;  namely,  those  of  La  Torre, 
Prarustin,  and  Villeseche.  The  first  comprised  the  parishes  of 
La  Torre,  Villaro,  Bobbio,  and  Rora.  The  second,  those  of 
Prarustin,  Angrogna,  and  San  Giovanni.  The  third,  those 
of  Villeseche,  Pomaret,  St.  Germain,  Prali,  Maneille,  and  Pra- 
mol.  This  organization  lasted  as  long  as  the  valleys  were  sub- 
ject to  France. 

During  this  period,  the  Vaudois,  heretofore  crowded  within 
narrow  limits,  came  forth  and  acquired  property  in  the  plain. 
The  temples  that  had  fallen  in  ruins  were  repaired.     At  San 

*  The  moderator,  Rod.  Peyran,  obtained  at  that  time  an  audience  with  Na- 
poleon. 

t  The  decree  is  dated  from  the  palace  of  St.  Cloud.  Another  decree,  con- 
firming the  concessions  of  funded  property,  made  by  the  executive  commission 
for  the  support  of  the  Vaudois  pastors,  is  dated  from  Boulogne.  As  to  the 
remainder  of  the  salaries,  it  was  provided  for  conformably  to  the  law  of  Ger- 
minal, year  10. 


GREAT  EARTHQUAKE  OP  1808.  373 

Giovanni,  where  all  the  places  appropriated  to  worship  and  in- 
struction had  been  closed  since  1 658,  a  temple  was  erected. 

This  large  and  beautiful  edifice  was  scarcely  finished  when  it 
suffered  great  damage  from  the  earthquake  which,  in  1808, 
spread  consternation  through  the  valleys  and  the  province  of 
Pinerolo,  and  was  also  felt  in  many  parts  of  France  and  Italy. 
For  four  months,  from  the  beginning  of  April  to  the  end  of  July, 
shocks  more  or  less  violent  continued  to  shake  the  ground  and 
buildings  of  every  kind.  The  damages  were  so  great  that  they 
were  estimated  at  two  or  three  millions  for  the  district  of  Pine- 
rolo and  the  valleys.  Clouds  of  an  unusual  and  ominous  aspect 
had  been  the  forerunners  of  this  scourge.  On  the  eve  of  the 
first  shocks  the  barometer  fell  very  low:  a  sudden  and  very 
considerable  increase  of  water  was  noticed  in  the  torrents  of  the 
valley  of  Lucerna,  and  the  water  in  the  wells  became  whitish : 
a  cold  and  violent  wind  began  to  blow.  The  first  shock,  fol- 
lowed by  several  others  in  close  succession,  was  felt  in  the  after- 
noon of  April  2d.  These  were  the  most  terrible  of  all. 
Churches  and  houses  fell  in  ruins ;  those  that  remained  standing 
were  seriously  damaged.  Large  portions  of  rock  were  detached 
from  the  summits  of  the  mountains,  and  rolled  down  with  a  crash 
into  the  valley.  The  lower  communes  were  those  that  suffered 
the  most ;  among  others,  San  Giovanni,  La  Torre,  and  Lucerna : 
those  higher  up  felt  it  but  slightly;  yet  everywhere  the  con- 
sternation was  great ;  scarcely  any  persons  dared  to  remain  in 
their  houses.  The  population  lived  in  tents ;  some  individuals 
sheltered  themselves  in  old  casks  or  in  slight  sheds  made  for  the 
unexpected  emergency.  These  places,  lately  so  peaceful,  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  a  camp  where  all  was  confusion.  All 
agriculture,  commerce,  and  handicraft  were  put  a  stop  to ;  fear 
had  seized  every  one  to  such  an  extent,  that  they  thought  of 
nothing  but  how  to  save  their  lives.  In  this  respect  each  one 
experienced  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence ;  for,  during 
all  the  time  this  visitation  lasted,  they  had  only  to  lament  the 
loss  of  three  lives,  and  the  letters  written  at  that  period  are  filled 
with  recitals  of  deliverances  that  were  truly  miraculous.* 

The  following  years,  down  to  1814,  so  fertile  in  political  and 
military  events,  present  no  fact  within  the  range  of  our  narrative 

*  Correspondance  Vaudoise,  etc. — Vaudois  Correspondence  ;  or,  a  Collection 
of  Letters  from  the  Valleys  on  the  Earthquake  of  1808,  etc.,  Paris,  1808. 


374  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

deserving  of  particular  attention.  But  before  we  proceed  to  the 
new  and  last  period  of  this  history,  it  will  be  of  importance  to 
examine  into  the  religious  spirit  of  the  years  we  have  passed 
through. 

The  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  marked  in  the  valleys 
by  a  decline  in  the  tone  of  religion,  which  was  weakened  every- 
where. There,  as  in  other  countries,  it  might  be  remarked  that 
the  Christian  spirit,  so  vigorous  and  so  fruitful  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  fed  itself  less  abundantly  from  the  pure 
source  of  the  gospel.  A  proud  rationalism,  mere  human  opinion, 
began  to  claim  a  place  in  theology,  and,  attempting  to  make  re- 
ligion more  accessible  and  less  repulsive  in  its  doctrines,  tarnish- 
ed and  disfigured  it.  The  candidates  for  the  sacred  ministry 
acquired  for  the  most  part  in  the  foreign  academies,  where  they 
prepared  for  entering  upon  it,  nothing  but  a  cold  orthodoxy,  or 
the  germs  of  Socinian  laxity.*  The  first  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century  brought  no  amelioration.  Virtue  was  often  preached 
and  exalted  more  than  the  work  of  Christ,  or  than  faith,  or  than 
the  love  of  the  Lord.  The  title  of  philosopher  was  placed  at  least 
on  a  level  with  that  of  Christian.!  The  Vaudois  representative 
of  this  tendency  was  M.  Mondon,  the  late  pastor  of  San  Giovanni, 
a  man  of  talent,  well  versed  in  classical  literature  and  profane 
history,  of  a  singular,  capricious  character,  but  courageous  and 
full  of  frankness.  His  belief  was  attacked,  and  on  good  grounds, 
for  it  was  far  from  being  evangelical ;  it  was  he  who  in  a  manu- 
script answer  to  a  pastoral  letter  of  the  bishop  of  Pinerolo,  sum- 
med up  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  enumerated  by  St.  Paul  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  (ch.  v.,)  and  in  that  to  the  Galatians, 
(ch.  v.,)  in  these  words :  "  In  substance,  these  are  their  names, — 
humanity,  justice,  and  reason."J  He  was,  moreover,  an  austere 
man,  and  of  regular  conduct. 

M.  Peter  Geymet,  pastor  of  La  Torre,  and  moderator  for  twelve 
years,  was  also  a  person  of  note  at  this  period,  but  less  for  his  theo- 
logical opinions  and  preaching  than  for  the  part  he  acted  in  poli- 
tical affairs.  Being  called  to  take  a  share  in  a  Piedmontese  coun- 
cil (consulte)  at  Turin,  he  attracted  attention  and  gained  the  es- 

*  In  fact,  at  Lausanne  cold  orthodoxy,  and  at  Geneva,  Socinianism. 
t  Letter,  in  manuscript,  from  a  herdsman  of  the  high  mountains  of  Angrogna, 
March  19,  1819. 
t  Answer  of  a  pastor  (M.  Mondon)  to  the  bishop  of  Pinerolo.    MSS. 


GERMS  OF  RELIGIOUS  DECLENSION.      375 

teem  of  many  influential  persons  by  the  warmth  with  which  he 
undertook  the  defence  of  religion  when  attacked  in  this  assembly. 
On  the  reunion  of  Piedmont  to  France,  he  was  nominated  sub- 
prefect  of  Pinerolo,  and  filled  that  honourable  office  for  thirteen 
years.*  While  he  rendered  important  services  to  his  own  bre- 
thren in  the  faith,  he  also  acquired  the  respect  and  attachment 
of  all  his  constituents.  He  left  behind  him  in  this  important  place, 
though  wholly  Roman  Catholic,  an  untarnished  reputation  for 
probity,  at  a  time  when  high  functionaries  generally  possessed  so 
little.  At  the  restoration,  Geymet  withdrew  to  La  Torre  so  poor, 
and  so  modest  withal,  that  he,  who  a  short  time  before  was  the 
first  magistrate  in  the  valleys,  did  not  refuse  to  accept  the  hum- 
ble post  of  master  of  a  Latin  school,  the  salary  of  which  did  not 
exceed  seven  hundred  francs,  and  to  which  he  devoted  his  latter 
days,  till  his  death  in  1822. 

But  the  pastor  whose  name  has  attracted  the  most  attention, 
at  least  among  foreigners,  is  Rodolph  Peyran,  who  was  at  his 
death  pastor  at  Pomaret,  after  having  been  moderator  of  the  Vau- 
dois  churches  from  1801  to  1805,  and  from  1814  to  1823.  He 
merited  his  celebrity  by  his  very  great  erudition,  of  which  he  has 
left  proofs  in  his  manuscript  letters,  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects, 
addressed  to  various  persons,  and  in  which  he  has  manifested  a 
mind  capable  of  great  things,  if  the  religious  and  moral  sentiment 
had  combined  with  his  genius  in  producing  them.  Although  an 
able  controversialist,  he  made  too  little  use  himself  of  the  excel- 
lence of  the  doctrines  that  he  so  victoriously  defended.  He  al- 
ways reproached  himself  for  the  agitated  life  of  his  youth.  The 
best  remembrance  that  he  has  left  of  himself  among  his  fellow- 
countrymen,  is  that  of  a  mind  abounding  in  sallies  of  wit,  and  full 
of  originality. 

It  is  not  too  severe  to  say,  that  the  end  of  the  last  century  and 
the  commencement  of  the  present  produced  in  the  valleys  the 
germs  of  religious  declension.  If  the  lukewarmness  or  the  errors 
of  some  ministers  of  the  gospel,  victims  themselves  of  the  spirit 
of  the  times,  contributed  on  one  side  to  the  weakening  of  the 
faith,  and  of  the  Christian  life  in  some  localities,  yet  we  must  ac- 
knowledge that  the  greatest  evil  arose  from  political  circum- 

*  The  author  of  this  work  can  attest  that  in  the  midst  of  his  multiplied  occu- 
pations, this  good  father  found  special  hours  which  he  devoted  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  numerous  family. 


376  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

stances,  from  an  unavoidable  contact  with  the  men  of  the  French 
revolution,  with  the  zealots  of  impiety.  Everything  tended  to 
divert  the  soul  from  the  interior  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God. 
The  power  of  the  human  understanding,  united  to  material  force, 
was  regarded  as  the  regenerator  of  the  world.  Nothing  was 
thought  of  but  social  organization,  material  conquests,  interests 
purely  human,  and  worldly  glory.  There  was  no  room  left  in 
this  world,  so  to  speak,  for  the  interests  of  the  world  to  come : 
all  eyes  were  turned  towards  that  extraordinary  man  whose 
achievements  obscured  the  splendour  of  all  that  preceding  ages 
had  admired.  Napoleon  concentrated  the  attention  of  every  one 
on  his  person  and  his  empire.  Attracted  by  his  voice,  hurried 
along  by  his  genius,  the  sons  of  the  Yaudois  submitted  to  the  con- 
scription, hastened  to  range  themselves  under  his  banners,  to  shed 
for  a  foreign  nation  their  precious  blood,  and  to  expend  a  life 
which  their  ancestors,  the  martyrs,  had  consecrated  to  the  pros- 
perity and  defence  of  the  Church.  Cut  down  by  death  in  fields 
of  battle  or  in  hospitals,  few  of  them  ever  saw  their  native  coun- 
try again.  Some  acquired  reputation  and  rank  in  the  army. 
The  name  of  Colonel  Olivet  is  popular  in  the  valleys ;  his  portrait, 
lithographed,  is  to  be  found  in  every  cottage.  Other  Vaudois 
distinguished  themselves,  like  M.  Geymet,  in  civil  administration. 
But  while  the  young  and  men  in  the  prime  of  life  were  more 
or  less  excited  and  carried  away  by  the  torrent  of  new  ideas,  the 
aged,  the  simple-minded,  the  serious,  the  mountaineers,  in  the 
retired  hamlets,  mothers  of  families,  and  respectable  pastors, 
preserved  their  primitive  manners  and  traditions,  by  the  recital 
of  the  sufferings  of  their  ancestors,  and  by  the  reading  and  teach- 
ing of  the  Holy  Scriptures.* 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  VALLEYS  SINCE  THE  GENERAL  PEACE    (1814-1846.) 

The  time  marked  by  the  wisdom  of  Providence  for  the  end  of 
Napoleon's  reign  approached.  His  unbounded  ambition  pre- 
pared an  immense  grave  for  his  armies  in  the  frozen  snows.     The 

*  For  this  chapter  the  author  has  consulted  the  histories  of  the  time,  the  Ta- 
bleau du  Piemont,  by  Maranda,  Turin,  year  xi,  of  the  French  Republic,  some 
manuscripts,  and  the  recollections  of  several  contemporaries. 


EFFECTS  OF  NAPOLEON'S  DOWNFALL.  377 

work  assigned  him  by  "  the  Lord  of  lords"  was  accomplished ; 
kings  and  nations  had  received  salutary  lessons.  The  emperor 
of  the  French  was  vanquished,  and  forced  to  abdicate.  Restored 
for  a  hundred  days  to  the  possession  of  a  part  of  his  dominions, 
he  fell  once  more  from  his  elevation;  and  leaving  forever  to 
others  the  task  of  governing  the  world,  he  closed  his  life  in  hu- 
miliation and  in  painful  reflection,  as  the  prisoner  of  England, 
at  St.  Helena. 

The  legitimate  sovereign  of  Piedmont  returned  to  the  pos- 
session, of  his  states,  increased  by  the  spoils  of  his  enemy.  Victor 
Emmanuel  received  the  homage  of  the  ancient  and  new  pro- 
vinces of  his  monarchy.  The  Vaudois  valleys  were  not  the  last 
to  acknowledge  his  authority,  and  to  promise  entire  fidelity  to 
their  prince. 

Nevertheless,  if  the  fall  of  Napoleon  was  a  benefit  to  Europe, 
now  exhausted  and  decimated,  it  was  rather  a  loss  to  the  Vaudois, 
who,  from  being  on  a  level  with  all  the  other  members  of  the 
Piedmontese  family,  and  enjoying  equal  laws  with  them,  again 
descended  to  the  condition  of  sectaries,  and  were  placed  under 
a  system  of  exclusion  and  privation.  They  had  hoped  better 
things.  They  confided  in  Victor  Emmanuel,  because  he  had 
resided  in  their  neighbourhood,  at  Pinerolo,  in  1794  ;  had  visited 
their  valleys,  and  commanded  their  militia,  when,  as  duke  of 
Aosta,  he  was  at  the  head  of  a  division  of  the  army  which  pro- 
tected their  frontiers.  So  great  were  the  expectations  they 
founded  upon  him,  that,  at  the  congress  of  Vienna,  they  ab- 
stained from  the  employment  of  means  at  which  they  supposed 
he  might  take  offence.  We  have  been  assured  that  a  friend  of 
the  Vaudois  had  prepared  the  way  for  having  their  emancipa- 
tion demanded  from  the  king  as  a  condition  of  the  territorial 
advantages  he  would  enjoy.  A  memorial  to  this  effect  was 
drawn  up ;  but  at  the  moment  of  sending  it,  the  Vaudois  board, 
fearing  to  displease  a  monarch  whom  they  believed  to  be  gener- 
ous, did  not  think  fit  to  forward  it.  They  were  contented  with 
acquainting  the  king's  government  with  the  wishes  of  the  popu- 
lation, and  interesting  two  superior  officers  of  the  allied  powers 
in  their  favour,  the  Count  de  Bubna,  an  Austrian  general,  and 
Lord  Bentinck,  commander  of  the  British  forces  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, and  then  at  Genoa.  Their  requests  related  to  liberty 
of  conscience  and  worship ;  to  a  political  equality  with  the  other 


378  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

subjects  of  the  king ;  to  the  abolition  (which  had  already  taken 
place,  in  fact,  since  1 800)  of  all  humiliating  restrictions  in  their 
religious  and  civil  relations ;  and,  lastly,  some  particular  points, 
such  as  the  salary  of  the  pastors,  and  an  efficacious  protection 
against  the  abduction  of  the  Vaudois  children. 

This  was  too  much  to  expect  from  a  court,  politic,  superstitious, 
and  little  disposed  to  innovate.  To  re-establish  the  Vaudois 
affairs  on  their  ancient  footing  was  in  its  eyes  the  most  prudent 
decision ;  and  it  would  go  no  further.  One  of  the  first  acts  pre- 
sented for  the  signature  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  after  his  return 
to  his  capital,  was  the  edict  which  replaced  the  Vaudois  under 
all  the  restrictive  ordinances  that  were  in  force  during  the  reign 
of  his  predecessors,  before  the  French  domination.  We  may 
easily  imagine  the  surprise,  the  grief,  the  depression,  which  this 
news  occasioned  in  the  valleys.  After  the  full  enjoyment  for 
fifteen  years  of  the  advantages  of  religious  liberty  and  political 
equality,  it  appeared  hard  to  be  obliged  to  surrender  the  general 
interests  of  the  Church  to  the  disquieting  guardianship  of  a 
government  ruled  by  priests,  and  to  see  themselves  enclosed  in 
narrow  limits,  like  culprits  in  a  prison,  or  restrained  to  a  small 
number  of  occupations  to  the  exclusion  of  the  more  honourable 
professions,  as  men  who  were  unworthy  of  consideration. 

The  first  use  to  which  this  restrictive  edict  was  applied  by  the 
authorities  was  to  shut  up  the  temple  of  San  Giovanni,  which 
had  been  built  at  Blonats,  in  the  centre  of  the  parish,  during 
the  French  occupation.  It  became  necessary,  in  consequence, 
to  re-open  the  ancient  edifice,  which  was  situated  out  of  the 
commune,  in  Angrogna. 

A  second  case  soon  after  occurred ;  the  parsonages,  properties, 
and  rents,  which  had  been  assigned  to  the  priests  in  the  valleys, 
before  the  French  domination,  and  transferred  during  that  period 
to  the  hands  of  the  Vaudois  directory  or  board,  were  reclaimed 
by  the  former  recipients  and  occupants.  To  this  no  objection 
was  made.  But,  not  content  with  being  put  in  possession  of  their 
ancient  benefices,  the  priests  claimed  a  reimbursement  of  the 
property  and  revenues  which  the  pastors  had  enjoyed ;  an  unjust 
requirement,  since  the  Vaudois  board  had  not  administered  this 
property  except  by  order  of  the  authorities  at  that  time  esta- 
blished. 

Accordingly,  though  the  government  refused  to  the  Vaudois 


TEMPLE   OF  SAN  GIOVANNI.  379 

the  position  they  wished  to  hold  in  the  state,  it  could  never  think 
of  sanctioning  such  ridiculous  claims  as  those  of  the  Romish 
clergy  in  the  valleys.  By  its  orders,  without  doubt,  Count 
Crotti,*  superintendent  of  the  province  of  Pinerolo,  a  magistrate 
whose  memory  is  still  revered,  assembled  the  interested  parties, 
and  desired  them  to  argue  their  claims  before  him.  Although 
moderate  in  form,  the  discussion  was  earnest,  each  party  stoutly 
defending  its  own  opinion,  and  there  seemed  no  likelihood  of 
their  coming  to  a  settlement,  when  the  youngest  priest,  who,  as 
such,  spoke  after  the  rest  of  his  brethren,  gave  an  opinion  quite 
different  from  theirs.  "  The  ministers,"  he  said,  "  have  ad- 
ministered not  only  lawfully,  but  loyally ;  they  have  preserved 
our  property  uninjured  and  in  a  perfect  state.  We  ought  to 
claim  nothing  from  them."  This  equitable  priest  justified  his 
view  of  the  case  with  so  much  frankness  and  truth,  that  it  pre- 
vailed, and  terminated  the  difference  to  the  great  satisfaction  of 
the  worthy  intendant,  who,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  had  under- 
taken to  settle  it. 

Their  sovereign,  in  replacing  the  Vaudois  under  a  restrictive 
and  obsolete  system  of  legislation,  did  not,  it  is  plain,  intend  to 
push  matters  to  extremity.  Thus,  with  respect  to  the  temple 
of  San  Giovanni,  he  granted,  after  the  lapse  of  a  year,  permis- 
sion to  perform  Divine  service  in  it.  Yet,  as  some  concession 
must  be  granted  to  the  priest,  who  considered  himself  aggrieved, 
pained,  and  incommoded  by  the  very  sight  of  those  who  entered 
it,  as  well  as  by  the  singing  of  the  hymns,  which  were  heard  out- 
side, from  the  door  being  left  open,  an  order  was  given  to  raise 
a  structure  that  would  hide  the  door.  This  was  obeyed  by 
raising  a  screen  formed  of  planks  before  it.f  The  sovereign 
gave  a  proof  of  his  tolerance  in  allowing  the  pastor  to  retain  his 
residence  in  the  parish,  and  in  permitting  schools  also  to  be  kept 
there.  Thus  an  end  was  put  to  the  prohibition  which,  since  1 658, 
deprived  San  Giovanni  of  worship  and  schools  within  its  limits, 
as  well  as  of  a  pastor's  presence.  This  redress  of  abuses,  and 
extended  toleration,  may  be  imputed  to  the  new  spirit  with 

*  In  the  course  of  a  long  exile  among  the  Protestants  he  had  learned  to  ap- 
preciate them,  and  always  treated  the  Vaudois  with  respect. 

t  This  fence  fell  down  from  decay  a  few  years  ago,  and,  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  same  priest,  a  screen  in  the  interior  was  substituted  for  it,  which  he  con- 
sidered sufficient. 


380  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

which  the  government  was  animated,  though  slowly,  in  reference 
to  the  affairs  of  the  Vaudois. 

The  Vaudois  also  received  other  proofs  of  the  king's  benignant 
disposition.  By  the  withdrawal  of  the  funds  and  incomes  which 
were  set  apart  for  the  worship  and  schools,  under  the  French 
government,  the  pastors,  school-masters,  and  managers,  were  re- 
duced to  penury.  The  foreign  subsidies  had  returned  to  the 
valleys  with  the  peace,  but  the  sum  was  of  smaller  amount  than 
formerly.  The  Royal  English  Subsidy  was  no  longer  received, 
owing  to  a  cause  known  to  the  Vaudois.  The  Dutch  funds, 
diminished  by  a  third  under  the  French  administration,  did  not 
yield  more  than  that  proportion.  These  necessities  having  been 
laid  before  his  majesty,  he  took  them,  as  well  as  some  other  re- 
quests, into  consideration ;  and  on  February  27, 1816,  published 
an  edict,  by  which  he  conferred  three  favours  on  his  Vaudois 
subjects : — I.  A  fixed  annual  salary  to  the  pastors  :*  II.  Permis- 
sion to  keep  their  property  acquired  beyond  the  limits  during 
the  French  government:  III.  License  to  practise,  besides  the 
common  trades,  the  professions  of  surgeon,  apothecary,  architect, 
land-surveyor,  and  those  for  which  a  diploma  was  not  required, 
after  having  submitted  to  the  prescribed  examinations  and  con- 
formed to  the  regulations. 

As  a  new  spirit  of  enlarged  toleration  thus  presided  over  the 
acts  of  government,  the  Romish  clergy  changed  the  method  of 
carrying  on  their  ancient  warfare  against  the  Vaudois  Church. 
Violence  and  oppression  not  suiting  the  spirit  of  the  times,  they 
had  recourse  to  a  method  often  employed  in  preceding  ages, 
namely,  discussion,  but  giving  it  a  milder  form,  that  of  pastoral 
letters.  The  bishop  of  Pinerolo,  Bigex,  undertook  this  task. 
His  addresses  were  well  written,  and  combined  all  the  qualities 
requisite  for  persuasion,  if  the  number  and  arrangement  of  the 
arguments,  and  the  art  of  presenting  them,  could  make  up  for 

*  This  salary  was  500  livres  (or  French  francs)  for  each  of  the  thirteen  an- 
cient pastors,  payable  by  the  public  functionaries,  and  raised  by  an  additional 
tax  on  the  landed  property  of  the  Vaudois.  This  annual  allowance  has  admit- 
ted of  the  establishment  recently,  with  the  royal  approbation,  of  two  new  pas- 
torates, one  at  Rodoret,  an  ancient  parochial  dependency  of  Prali,  another  at 
Macel,  similarly  related  to  Maneille.  The  salary  of  these  two  pastors  is  in- 
ferior ;  it  is  provided  for  entirely  by  means  of  a  part  of  the  Royal  British  Subsidy, 
which  remained  unemployed  because  of  the  salary  assigned  by  his  majesty  to 
the  thirteen'  ancient  pastors, 


A  PAPER  WARFARE.  381 

the  unsoundness  of  the  foundation.  All  that  could  be  said  to 
entice  the  disciples  of  the  Saviour  into  the  great  establishment 
of  which  the  centre  is  at  Rome,  was  repeated ;  error  was  palliated, 
and  false  doctrines  coloured  or  attenuated.  On  the  appearance 
of  the  first  of  the  pastoral  epistles,  in  1818,  the  Vaudois  public, 
whether  on  account  of  the  novelty  of  the  thing,  or  for  fear  of 
consequences,  was  very  much  agitated.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
very  soon  seen  that  where  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation,  or  rather 
the  spirit  of  the  ancient  Vaudois,  which  accords  with  the  mind 
of  God,  breathed,  the  spirit  of  Rome  could  not  mislead  the  un- 
derstanding ;  that  where  the  word  of  God  is  not  only  preached, 
but  within  the  reach  and  in  the  hands  of  all,  there,  popish  error, 
the  worship  of  saints,  and  the  observance  of  the  mass,  will  only 
gain  isolated  partisans.  Nevertheless,  many  pastors  thought  it 
their  duty  to  reply  by  manuscript  refutations,  which,  being  copied 
a  great  many  times,  circulated  from  family  to  family.  Those  of 
MM.  Geymet,  Rod.  Peyran,  and  Mondon,  deserve  to  be  parti- 
cularly mentioned.  The  seriousness  of  some,  and  the  excellent 
selection  of  arguments,  form  a  striking  contrast  to  the  tone  (far 
too  light)  of  others.  The  feebleness  of  the  cause  of  the  adver- 
saries, and  the  excellence  of  their  own,  were  not  sufficient  rea- 
sons, when  the  matter  in  question  was  really  the  gospel  and  the 
kingdom  of  God,  for  indulging  in  pleasantry,  personality,  or 
malice.  This  paper  war,  after  being  carried  on  for  some  time 
with  vigour,  subsided  without  any  result  beyond  the  noise  it 
made  at  the  time.  It  was  attempted  to  be  renewed,  but  without 
success,  by  the  bishops  who  succeeded  M.  Bigex ;  by  M.  Rey, 
in  1826,  in  a  pastoral  letter  devoid  of  all  persuasive  argument, 
and  lastly,  by  the  present  bishop,  M.  Charvoz,  in  pastoral  letters 
and  numerous  writings,  composed  with  ability,  in  which  learning 
is  employed  in  the  service  of  error  with  very  great  skill.  By 
these  publications,  printed  and  circulated  through  the  diocese,  in 
Piedmont  and  elsewhere,  endeavours  were  made  to  effect  a 
change  of  opinion,  as  if  the  Vaudois,  reduced  to  silence,  would 
succumb  to  the  force  of  argument  in  favour  of  the  Romish  system. 
The  valleys  undoubtedly  reckon  at  this  hour,  among  their  pas- 
tors, men  of  talent,  versed  in  biblical  science  and  in  the  history 
of  the  Church,  and  capable,  assuredly,  of  taking  up  the  gauntlet 
that  has  been  thrown  down  to  them.  But,  independently  of  the 
little  advantage  to  be  gained  in  refuting  objections  a  hundred 


382  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

times  made  and  as  often  answered,  and  in  exploding  assertions 
of  which  the  falsehood  is  generally  acknowledged,  especially  in 
the  valleys,  it  is  difficult,  and  indeed  almost  impossible,  for  the 
spiritual  guides  of  these  churches  to  do  it  by  means  of  the  press, 
since  their  writings  would  be  partially  cancelled,  or  totally  sup- 
pressed by  the  censorship,  and  they  themselves  might  be  called 
to  account,  under  pretext  of  having  wronged  the  Romish  Church. 

The  prejudices  and  repugnance  with  which  the  suggestions  of 
the  priests  inspired  the  Roman  Catholics  against  the  Vaudois 
made  their  way  to  the  throne  itself.  Charles  Felix,  who  became 
king  on  the  abdication  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  in  1821,  refused  to 
admit  to  an  audience  the  Yaudois  deputation,  who  were  com- 
missioned by  the  Valleys  to  present  their  homage  to  his  majesty. 
His  religious  prejudices  prompted  him  to  this  severity.  He  con- 
descended to  explain  the  cause :  "  Tell  them,"  he  said,  "  that  they 
only  want  one  thing,  that  is,  to  be  Catholics."  Their  fidelity,  in 
fact,  never  failed  them;  for  when,  in  1821,  all  Piedmont,  so  to 
speak,  was  involved  in  a  revolutionary  movement,  the  Vaudois 
almost  alone  remained  attached  to  legal  order  and  legitimacy. 

By  the  elevation  of  the  present  king,  Charles  Albert,  prince 
of  Carignan,  the  prejudices  which  prevailed  on  the  throne  are 
now  banished  from  it.  Intelligent  and  generous,  the  father  of 
his  subjects,  Charles  Albert  has  put  an  end  to  many  severities 
and  indignities  which  were  heaped  upon  the  Vaudois.  Promo- 
tion in  the  army  had  been  refused  to  them ;  since  the  French 
domination,  no  Vaudois  had  been  raised  to  the  rank  of  an  officer. 
Charles  Albert  has  repaired  this  intentional  slight.  Superstition 
had  refused,  at  Aosta,  honourable  burial  to  a  Vaudois,  an  aged 
soldier,  Major  Bonnet ;  Charles  Albert,  listening  to  the  appeal 
of  justice,  imposed  silence  on  the  voice  of  intolerance,  and  gave 
authority  to  one  of  his  Vaudois  subjects,  the  chaplain  of  the  Pro- 
testant ambassador  at  Turin,  to  transport  the  remains  of  the  aged 
warrior  with  honour  to  one  of  the  cemeteries  of  the  valleys.  It 
cannot  however  be  denied  that,  in  some  of  his  measures,  the  prince 
has  appeared  to  return  at  times  to  the  distrustful  and  restrictive 
policy  of  most  of  his  predecessors :  thus  his  government  has  put 
in  force,  for  some  years,  the  edict  which  confined  all  the  Vaudois 
within  the  valleys,  and  did  not  allow  them  to  stay  more  than  three 
successive  days  in  a  locality  beyond  those  limits,  unless  perhaps 
at  Turin.    In  the  same  manner,  a  desire  has  been  shown  to  con- 


FOREIGN  BENEFACTORS  OF  THE  VAUDOIS.  383 

strain  the  Vaudois  proprietors  of  land  in  the  Catholic  territory, 
to  sell  it  within  a  short  space  of  time.  But  we  are  anxious  to  add 
that  his  majesty,  urged  in  the  name  of  tolerance  and  equity,  has 
not  sanctioned  the  first  measure,  and  has  modified  the  second  in 
the  following  manner : — Property  possessed  beyond  the  limits  by 
the  Vaudois  is  not  to  be  sold  compulsorily,  and  may  pass  in  suc- 
cession to  legal  heirs ;  but  in  the  case  of  escheat,  or  obstruction 
to  the  course  of  descent,  such  property  is  to  be  sold  to  Roman 
Catholics. 

These  restrictions,  injurious  even  to  the  revenue,  increase  the 
discomfort  which  is  already  felt  in  the  valleys  by  a  population 
too  large  for  such  narrow  limits.  A  part  of  the  twenty  thousand 
Vaudois,  cooped  up  amidst  snowy  cliffs,  barren  rocks,  and  the 
plain  which  is  closed  to  them,  can  barely  exist :  their  activity  ex- 
pends itself  for  nothing,  and  is  lost.  Emigration  becomes  the 
only  resource  of  those  who  are  not  proprietors ;  for  of  commerce 
there  is  almost  none,  and  labour  was  scarcely  more  profitable. 
France  and  Switzerland  increase  by  the  loss  of  population  which 
the  valleys  incur :  Marseilles,  Nismes,  Lyons,  and  Geneva  re- 
ceive a  great  number,  who  are  daily  increasing,  in  consequence 
of  that  distrustful  policy  which  expels  from  Piedmont  the  most 
moral  part  of  its  population. 

The  popish  system,  it  is  true,  finds  its  advantage  in  this  sys- 
tem of  oppression,  which  furnishes  it  with  subjects  of  conquest. 
It  is  especially  among  the  poor,  in  distress  and  burdened  with 
families,  and  the.  demoralized,  that  the  religion  of  Rome  gains 
ground  from  time  to  time  by  means  of  bribes.  In  this  way,  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  persons  have  passed  over  to  Popery  in  a  single 
year. 

The  increasing  wants  of  the  Vaudois  population,  since  the  re- 
storation, have  attracted  afresh,  as  in  former  ages,  the  attention 
and  interest  of  the  Protestants  of  Europe.  One  sovereign,  the 
late  glorious  king  of  Prussia,  Frederick  William  III.,  testified  a 
lively  solicitude  for  them.  They  have  found  indefatigable  bene- 
factors among  the  clergy  of  England,  and  many  of  the  gentry  of 
that  noble  nation.  Holland  and  Switzerland  have  added  new 
contributidns  to  their  former  aid.  Other  states  also  have  taken 
part  in  giving  assistance. 

During  a  long  course  of  years,  the  pious  Frederick  William  III. 
was  represented  at  Turin  by  Count  Waldburg  Truchsess,  who 


384  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

was  furnished,  no  doubt,  with  special  instructions  concerning  the 
Vaudois  colonies,  (as  he  called  the  valleys.)  The  noble  count 
was  their  constant  support :  he  visited  them,  sojourned  among 
them,  made  himself  acquainted  with  their  wants,  occupied  him- 
self actively  in  improving  their  condition,  often  spake  in  their 
favour  to  their  sovereign,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  interest- 
ed himself  for  them.  It  was  by  his  endeavours,  aided  by  the  am- 
bassadors of  England  and  Holland,  that  an  evangelical  chapel 
was  established  at  Turin,  with  the  approbation  of  the  king,  which 
is  regularly  supplied  by  a  resident  Yaudois  pastor,  and  open  to 
the  Yaudois  and  Protestant  population  (far  from  inconsiderable) 
of  the  capital. 

To  the  count  Walburg  belonged  also  the  first  idea  of  an  es- 
tablishment which  Protestant  charity  has  bestowed  on  the  valleys, 
namely,  a  hospital  for  the  sick.  Struck  with  the  miseries  and 
ills  which  the  want  of  succour  and  medical  aid  left  incurable ; 
mortified,  too,  with  seeing  that  no  Yaudois  was  admitted  into  an 
infirmary  without  being  harassed  with  solicitations  to  change  his 
religion,  the  ambassador  interested  his  sovereign  in  the  founding 
of  such  an  establishment.  Request  was  next  made  in  all  the  evan- 
gelical states  for  permission  to  make  collections  for  this  object. 
The  consent  of  the  king  of  Sardinia  to  the  plan  was  asked,  and 
graciously  granted.  Collections  were  made,  in  1825,  in  Prussia, 
England,  Holland,  France,  Switzerland,*  throughout  Protestant 
Germany,  and  even  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Russia.f  The 
funds  collected  are  secured  in  foreign  parts.  They  were  suffi- 
ciently abundant  to  build  and  endow  two  hospitals  instead  of 
one :  one  at  La  Torre,  for  the  valley  of  Lucerna ;  the  other  at 
Pomaret,  for  the  two  other  valleys.  The  blessings  of  the  sick, 
of  their  families,  and  of  the  Yalleys  altogether,  rest  on  the  au- 
thors of  so  great  a  benefit. 

A  third  signal  service  rendered  to  the  Yalleys  by  the  king  of 
Prussia,  Frederick  William  III.,  was  the  creation  of  two  bursaries 
in  favour  of  Yaudois  students  at  the  university  of  Berlin.  By 
this  means  the  candidates  for  the  ministry,  instructed  under  the 
eyes  of  the  king,  by  the  lectures  of  an  Augustus  Neander,  and 
by  the  paternal  counsels  of  a  Dieterici,  cannot  but  promote,  with 

*  The  canton  of  Vaud  collected  500  louis. 

t  The  bust  of  the  emperor  Alexander,  preserved  in  the  hospital,  is  a  memorial 
of  a  generous  donation. 


ENGLISH  BENEFACTORS.  o85 

the  blessing  of  God,  the  spiritual  prosperity  of  the  Christians  of 
the  Alps. 

The  Prussian  monarch,  who  took  delight  in  advancing  the  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  good  of  his  humble  brethren  in  the  valleys, 
did  not  leave  this  world  without  receiving  proofs  of  their  grati- 
tude. They  testified  the  same  sentiments  also  to  his  represen- 
tative more  than  once  during  his  lifetime,  and,  after  that,  to  his 
mortal  remains.  His  excellency  had  left  directions  to  deposit 
his  remains  in  the  midst  of  his  beloved  Vaudois,  as  he  was  wont 
to  call  them.  On  August  18th,  1844,  the  heads  of  the  Vaudois 
family  received  his  remains,  and  accompanied  them  with  weep- 
ing eyes  to  the  cemetery  of  La  Torre,  where  they  were  placed 
among  the  ashes  of  their  dead.  All  the  pastors,  the  members 
of  the  consistory,  deputies  from  all  the  communes,  the  college, 
the  schools,  with  an  assemblage  of  two  or  three  thousand  persons, 
testified  the  veneration  felt  by  the  people  for  their  pious  bene- 
factors. 

Next  to  the  count  Waldburg  and  his  pious  sovereign,  may  be 
named,  amongst  the  warmest  friends  of  the  Vaudois  in  England, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Sims,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gilly,  George  Lowther,  Esq., 
Colonel  Beckwith,  and  others.  By  their  publications,  correspond- 
ence, and  conversations,  they  have  excited  in  their  native  coun- 
try a  lively  interest  for  the  descendants  of  those  who  confessed 
the  pure  gospel  at  a  period  antecedent  to  the  Reformation. 
Many  of  them  have  united  their  efforts  for  the  improvement  of 
the  schools.  As  to  the  higher  branches  of  instruction,  formerly 
one  master,  paid  by  the  Walloon  committee  of  Holland,  had  the 
entire  charge  of  it,  under  the  title  of  rector  of  the  Latin  school ; 
Dr.  Gilly  and  his  friends  applied  the  funds  they  raised  to  enlarge 
this  primary  institution,  with  the  consent  of  the  committee  in 
Holland,  and  the  approbation  of  his  Sardinian  majesty. 

Two  professorships  have  been  added  to  that  which  already  ex- 
isted at  La  Torre  :  their  union  constitutes  a  college,  where  Latin, 
Greek,  French,  Italian,  geography,  history,  and  the  mathematics 
are  taught  in  connexion  with  religion.  A  spacious  building, 
designed  for  the  classes,  and  a  library,  has  been  built  in  the  out- 
skirts of  La  Torre,  on  the  Villaro  road,  in  a  beautiful  situation, 
at  the  expense  of  the  Vaudois  communes,  with  the  aid  of  a  gener- 
ous donation.  Scholarships  have  also  been  founded  for  the  be- 
nefit of  the  pupils.     The  ancient  Latin  school  of  Pomaret,  in  the 

17 


386  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

valley  of  San  Martino,  by  an  increase  in  the  salary  of  the  in- 
structor, now  enjoys  the  services  of  a  superior  man.  Excited  by 
the  example  of  English  Christians,  the  communes  have  increased 
the  salaries  of  the  parish  schoolmasters,  in  the  hope  that  their 
young  people  who  enter  on  this  useful  vocation  will  prepare 
themselves  for  it  by  more  extensive  and  solid  studies  than  for- 
merly. Many,  in  fact,  have  placed  themselves  for  this  purpose 
in  the  normal  school  of  the  canton  de  Vaud,  which  has  been  eager- 
ly opened  for  them  by  a  benevolent  government.  The  residences 
of  the  schoolmasters  and  the  school  buildings  have  been  put  on 
a  uniform  footing.  It  is  impossible,  in  speaking  of  these  various 
efforts  and  improvements,  to  forget  the  venerated  name  of  Colonel 
Beckwith,  whose  enlightened  charity  has  been  displayed  in  aid- 
ing, by  liberal  donations,  the  repair  or  erection  of  more  than 
eighty  schools,  greater  or  smaller,  in  districts  or  parishes. 

A  superior  school  for  girls  was  still  wanting,  but  has  been 
formed  under  the  name  of  a  boarding-school,  (pensionnat,)  by 
the  same  benefactor.  School-mistresses  and  teachers  have  also 
been  established  in  various  places,  by  generous  aid.  Were  we 
permitted,  we  should  be  gratified  to  mention  among  the  bene- 
factresses the  name  of  a  noble  Prussian  lady,  the  Countess  F . 

The  Swiss  cantons  continue  to  give  assistance  to  some  Vaudois 
students  in  the  universities  of  Lausanne  and  Geneva. 

Holland,  whose  moral  and  pecuniary  support  has  been  so  im- 
portant to  the  valleys  in  their  distresses,  has  continued  to  render 
signal  services  by  contributions  towards  the  salaries  of  the 
school-masters  and  the  teacher  of  the  Latin  school,  and  by  its 
aid  to  the  superannuated  pastors  and  their  widows,  as  well  as  by 
gifts  to  deserving  students. 

It  was  impossible  that  such  visible  marks  of  the  interest  taken 
in  the  valleys  by  the  Protestants  of  Europe  should  not  attract 
the  attention,  and,  in  some  degree,  excite  the  distrust  of  the 
government,  although  on  closer  examination  it  might  easily  be 
assured  that  nothing  had  been  done  in  a  spirit  of  either  open  or 
concealed  hostility,  and  that  all  their  improvements  tended  only 
to  the  greatest  welfare  of  the  valleys.  Could  it  then  be  thought 
that  the  government  would  have  wished  to  form  a  counterpoise 
to  these  measures,  by  permitting,  at  the  very  gates  of  La  Torre, 
the  head-quarters  and  centre  of  this  movement,  the  erection  of 
an  establishment  in  aid  of  the  Romish  missions,  for  eight  fathers. 


ANXIETIES  m  THE  VALLEYS.  387 

under  the  name  of  the  priory  of  the  holy  religion,  and  of  the 
military  order  of  Saints  Maurice  and  Lazarus?  During  the 
building  of  this  convent  and  of  its  vast  church,  the  people  of  the 
valleys  became  disturbed  and  anxious,  and  could  not  think 
without  emotion  of  the  intentions  it  announced.  Those  who 
knew  the  history  of  their  native  country  recollected  that  more 
than  once  disturbance,  followed  by  cruel  measures  against  their 
forefathers,  had  been  occasioned  by  the  introduction  of  monks 
into  the  midst  of  a  Vaudois  population.  It  was  feared  that  this 
establishment  would  be  a  source  of  evil  at  no  .very  distant 
period.  As  the  day  for  the  completion  of  the  building  and  its 
consecration  drew  near,  their  anxiety  increased. 

But  such  was  not  the  intention  of  his  majesty ;  at  least,  so  we 
are  authorized  to  believe,  after  the  proofs  he  then  gave  of  his 
good-will  and  confidence  in  his  Vaudois  subjects.  Charles  Albert, 
in  his  quality  of  grand  master  of  the  order  of  the  Saints  Maurice 
and  Lazarus,  had  consented  to  be  present  at  the  dedication  of 
the  new  temple  of  La  Torre.  The  military  commandant  had 
already  given  orders  to  quarter  the  troops  of  the  line  in  that 
city,  as  a  guard  for  his  majesty.  They  were  expected,  when  the 
report  was  spread  that  Charles  Albert  had  declined  to  employ 
them,  that  he  had  even  sent  back  to  Pinerolo  half  a  squadron  of 
the  royal  carabiniers  who  had  been  appointed  to  accompany  him, 
and,  finally,  that  the  marquises  of  Lucerna  and  Angrogna  had 
proposed  to  the  king  that  he  should  be  received  by  the  Vaudois 
militia,  and  that  this  offer  had  been  accepted.  This  news  dis- 
sipated the  sombre  thoughts  that  had  been  gathering  in  many 
hearts.  They  vanished  entirely  when  it  was  known  that  his 
majesty  had  said,  in  reply  to  those  who  urged  him  to  make  use 
of  the  regular  troops,  "  I  require  no  guard  in  the  midst  of  the 
Vaudois."  They  all  instinctively  drew  the  conclusion  that  the 
king  entertained  the  best  feelings  towards  them,  since  he  wished 
for  no  other  defenders  than  their  love.  This  hope  rose  brightly 
in  their  hearts,  like  the  sun  which  at  daybreak,  on  September 
24th,  1 844,  gilded  the  mountains,  after  the  two  days  of  incessant 
rain  which  had  chilled  the  limbs  of  the  Catholics  who  had  assem- 
bled on  the  2 2d  for  the  dedication. 

All  the  men  able  to  bear  arms  in  the  valleys  of  Lucerna,  An- 
grogna, and  Prarustin,  formed  themselves  into  two  lines  for  the 
passage  of  the  king,  who,  in  the  midst  of  solemn  silence,  repaired 


388  HISTORY  OF  THE  VAUDOIS. 

to  the  new  Roman  temple  to  perform  his  devotions.  During 
this  time  the  militia  formed  into  companies,  and  proceeded  to 
Lucerna,  half  a  league  distant.  The  king  quitted  La  Torre  on 
foot,  surrounded  by  a  dense  crowd,  who  hailed  him  with  affec- 
tion ;  and  then  entered  his  carriage  and  pursued  his  journey. 
In  the  direction  of  Lucerna,  repeated  acclamations  and  shouts 
of  joy  were  heard  from  the  Vaudois  militia  who  awaited  his 
arrival.  The  king,  affected  by  such  a  cordial  reception,  took 
his  stand  at  the  gate  of  the  palace  of  Lucerna,  and  made  the 
militia  file  off  by  companies,  according  to  their  communes  and 
with  their  colours.  He  saluted  each  standard,  and  every  one 
could  see  a  good-humoured  smile  on  his  countenance  when  a 
standard-bearer,  not  content  with  lowering  his  colours  before 
his  sovereign,  saluted  him  by  taking  off  his  hat  also.  The 
Vaudois  Board,  or  Directory,  were  admitted  in  their  turn  to  an 
audience,  and  met  with  a  gracious  reception  :  and  when,  after 
having  delivered  to  the  syndic  of  La  Torre  a  liberal  donation 
for  the  poor  of  the  two  communes,  the  king  left  at  night  for 
Turin,  he  saw  from  a  distance  La  Torre  illuminated,  and  the 
dark  mountains  that  surround  it  covered  with  bonfires,  as  if  to 
enlighten  as  far  as  possible  the  route  of  their  prince,  who  had 
found  the  way  to  the  hearts  of  his  subjects. 

It  would  seem  that  it  was  not  in  the  hearts  of  the  Vaudois 
alone  that  the  visit  of  the  24th  September,  1844,  left  ineffaceable 
traces.  Charles  Albert,  in  a  gratifying  manner,  has  preserved 
the  remembrance  of  it  by  an  enduring  memorial.  He  has 
caused  a  beautiful  fountain  to  be  constructed  at  the  entrance  of 
the  town  of  La  Torre,  with  this  inscription : — "  II  re,  Carolo 
Alberto,  al  popolo  che  I'accoglieva  con  tanto  affetto."  "  The 
king,  Charles  Albert,  to  the  people  who  welcomed  him  with  so 
much  affection." 

Since  that  time  nothing  has  interrupted  this  confidence  be- 
tween the  sovereign  and  his  faithful  Vaudois  subjects.  May  it 
always  endure,  and  increase  in  his  august  house,  as  well  as 
fidelity  to  God  and  the  king  in  the  hearts  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  valleys ! 


APPENDIX. 


In  the  Appendix  to  the  original  work  the  undermentioned  pieces 
are  given. 

I.  A  short  geographical  and  statistical  description  of  the  Vau- 
dois  valleys  of  Piedmont. 

II.  (A)  Three  Catalogues  of  the  ancient  writings  of  the 
Vaudois. 

(B)  A  few  of  the  principal  of  these  writings ;  namely, 

1.  The  Noble  Lesson,  A.  D.  1100. 

2.  Some  extracts  from  other  religious  poems  of  the  Vaudois, 
without  date,  but  reputed  to  be  as  ancient  as  The  Noble 
Lesson. 

3.  The  Vaudois  Catechism,  A.  D.  1100. 

4.  Their  Confession  of  Faith,  A.  D.  1120. 

5.  A  Treatise  on  Antichrist,  A.  D.  1120. 

6.  Extracts  from  the  Treatise  on  Purgatory,  A.  D.  1126. 

7.  The  Formulary  of  their  Confession  of  Sins,  without  date, 
and  in  French,  M.  Monastier  not  having  at  hand  the  manu- 
script in  the  Romance  language  or  Vaudois  dialect. 


So  much  of  the  geographical  and  statistical  statement  as 
seemed  useful  is  given  in  this  Appendix,  but  it  has  not  been 
thought  expedient  to  print  here  the  catalogues  and  other  docu- 
ments extending  over  147  pages. 

The  first  of  the  three  Catalogues  (A)  contains  the  titles  and 
description  of  those  ancient  writings  of  the  Vaudois  made  use  of 
by  Perrin  in  the  composition  of  his  History  of  the  Vaudois,  and 
mentioned  by  him. 

The  second  Catalogue  consists  of  ancient  writings  of  the 


390  APPENDIX. 

Vaudois,  collected  in  the  valleys  by  Jean  Leger,  and  delivered 
by  him,  in  the  year  1658,  to  Sir  Samuel  Morland,  British  am- 
bassador or  commissioner  from  Oliver  Cromwell  to  Turin,  who 
deposited  them  in  the  library  of  the  University  of  Cambridge. 
According  to  Leger,  these  writings  were  contained  in  seven 
volumes.  A  list  of  them  is  in  Morland's  "  History  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Churches  of  Piedmont,"  folio,  London,  1658. 

The  third  Catalogue  is  that  of  Vaudois  works  deposited  by 
Leger  in  the  library  of  Geneva. 

The  Noble  Lesson  (La  Nobla  Leyczon)  is  a  metrical  produc- 
tion, consisting  of  479  lines,  in  the  Romance  or  Vaudois  language, 
which  has  been  frequently  translated.  It  consists  chiefly  of  an 
abstract  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  history,  and  refers  to  the 
corruptions  introduced  into  the  nominal  church  after  the  apos- 
tolic age.  The  introductory  lines  fix  the  date  of  its  composition 
to  be  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century. 

1.  O  brethren,  give  ear  to  a  noble  lesson  : 

2.  We  ought  often  to  watch  and  pray, 

3.  For  we  see  this  world  is  near  its  end ; 

4.  We  ought  to  be  very  earnest  in  good  works, 

5.  For  we  see  the  end  of  this  world  approaches. 

6.  Eleven  hundred  years  are  fully  accomplished 

7.  Since  it  was  written,  "  We  are  in  the  last  times." 


A  GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  STATISTICAL  DESCRIPTION 
OP  THE  VAUDOIS  VALLEYS  OF  PIEDMONT. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

The  Vaudois  valleys  are  situated  in  the  Alps,  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  great  chain  of  mountains  of  that  name,  which  separate 
High  Dauphine  from  Piedmont ;  they  lie  to  the  north  of  Mount 
Viso  and  the  sources  of  the  Po,  to  the  south  of  Geneva,  and  to 
the  west  of  the  city  of  Pinerolo. 

They  are  formed  by  the  mountain  ranges  which  descend  from 
the  great  chain  of  the  Alps,  their  western  limit,  to  the  plains  of 
Piedmont  on  the  east.  The  ridges  which  separate  them  from 
France  reach  the  height  of  more  than  three  thousand  metres 
[eleven  or  twelve  thousand  feet]  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 


APPENDIX.  391 

the  breaks  of  the  chain  afford  only  two  passages,  that  of  Abries 
being  the  most  northern,  and  the  Col  de  la  Croix  [pass  of  la 
Croix]  the  most  southern.  The  range  which  bounds  the  Vau- 
dois  valleys  on  the  north  separates  them  from  the  valley  of 
Pragela,  or  Clusone.  The  chain  which  shuts  them  in  on  the 
south,  and  which  is  more  elevated  than  the  preceding,  descends 
from  the  Viso,  and  touches  the  high  valley  of  the  Po  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Saluzzo.  On  the  east,  their  only  barrier  is  formed  by 
the  depression  or  flattening  of  the  mountains,  as  they  merge  into 
the  plain,  and  by  the  waters  of  the  Clusone,  which  flow  into 
the  Po. 

The  Vaudois  valleys  are  separated  from  one  another  by  ridges 
of  considerable  elevation.  Taken  altogether,  they  form  a  trun- 
cated or  irregular  triangle,  of  which  the  base  is  the  ridge  of  the 
high  Alps,  running  from  north  to  south,  and  the  sides  of  which 
converge  towards  Pinerolo,  without  actually  reaching  it. 

They  may  also  be  considered  as  a  fan-shaped  group  of  valleys, 
resting  against  the  giant  Alps,  and  uniting  together  in  two  large 
valleys,  which  approach  each  other  in  the  direction  of  Pinerolo, 
but  become  blended  with  the  plain,  against  which  the  two  last 
slopes  of  two  of  these  depressed  ridges  form  a  half  valley  between 
these  mountains  and  the  river  Clusone. 

This  Vaudois  half  valley,  called  the  valley  of  Perosa,  is,  pro- 
perly speaking,  only  the  extreme  western  (or  right)  flank  of  the 
valley  of  Pragela,  which  surrounds  the  Vaudois  valleys  from  the 
north-west  to  the  south-east.  It  includes  also  an  interior  vale, 
that  of  Pramol,  which  proceeds  from  the  banks  of  the  Clusone, 
near  Saint  Germain  towards  the  west,  between  the  valley  of  San 
Martino  on  the  north,  and  Angrogna  to  the  south. 

The  two  other  great  Vaudois  valleys  are  (i.)  the  valley  of  San 
Martino  on  the  north,  through  which  flows  the  torrent  called  the 
Germanasco,  which  falls  into  the  Clusone,  opposite  the  little  town 
of  Perosa,  at  the  outlet  of  the  valley  of  Pragela,  and  formed  by 
the  junction  of  the  lateral  vales  of  Kioclaret  and  Fact  with  that 
of  Le  Perrier,  which  again  is  itself  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
upper  Alpine  vales  of  Macel  or  Balsille,  Rodoret,  and  Prali,  from 
north  to  south. 

(ii.)  The  valley  of  Lucerna,  to  the  south  of  that  of  San  Mar- 
tino, watered  by  the  Police,  a  small  stream,  which  receives  the 
waters  of  the  Angrogna,  the  Lucerna,  and  many  others  of  less 


APPENDIX. 

importance.  This  valley,  the  widest  and  most  extensive  of  all, 
is  flanked  towards  its  outlet  to  the  plain  on  the  east  by  two  vales  ; 
the  one  to  the  south,  the  smallest,  is  that  of  Rora,  traversed  by 
the  Lucerna ;  the  other,  to  the  north,  large  enough  to  be  often 
reckoned  as  forming  a  distinct  valley,  is  the  vale  of  Angrogna, 
watered  by  the  noisy  torrent  of  the  same  name.  It  is  enclosed 
between  the  valleys  of  San  Martino  on  the  west  and  north,  and 
of  Perosa  by  the  vale  of  Pramol  on  the  north-east,  and  by  the 
side  of  Prarustin  on  the  east ;  and,  lastly,  by  the  valley  of  Lu- 
cerna on  the  south.  This  last  extends  in  a  plain  from  east  to 
west,  and  terminates  by  the  high  pass  of  the  Col  de  la  Croix, 
which  opens  into  France,  following  the  same  direction,  by  the 
pasture-lands  and  Col  Giuliano,  which  separate  it  from  the  valley 
of  San  Martino  to  the  north,  and  by  the  Combe  des  Charbon- 
niers,  or  vale  of  Guichard,  in  the  direction  of  Viso  to  the  south- 
west. 

The  distribution  of  the  parishes  in  the  respective  valleys  is 
as  follows. 

A. — The  Valley  of  San  Martino. 

The  valley  of  San  Martino  has  five  churches,  or  Vaudois 
parishes ;  Prali,  Rodoret,  and  Macel  in  the  mountainous  vales 
on  the  west,  ranged  in  this  order  from  north  to  south ;  Maneille, 
the  fourth  parish,  which  belongs  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  valley ; 
and  Villeseche,  the  fifth,  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley  to  the 
east,  with  two  dependencies,  namely,  Rioclaret  and  Fact.  This 
parish  stands  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 

The  Yaudois  of  some  communes,  where  the  Catholics  form  the 
majority,  as  at  Le  Perrier,  Ciabrans,  San  Martino,  etc.,  frequent 
the  churches  of  Maneille  and  Villeseche,  according  as  either  is 
most  within  their  reach. 


B. — The  Half-valley  of  Perosa. 

The  half-valley  of  Perosa  contains  four  parishes :  I.  That  of 
Pomaret,  at  the  outlet  of  the  defile  which  separates  this  half- 
valley  from  the  valley  of  San  Martino  ;  the  Vaudois  inhabitants 
on  the  other  side  of  Pinache,  to  the  south,  attend  at  this  church. 
At  Pomaret  there  is  a  Latin  school,  and  a  Vaudois  hospital. 


APPENDIX.  393 

II.  The  parish  of  San  Germain,  of  which  Chenevieres  and 
Turina,  or  Envers-les-Portes,  form  a  part.  III.  That  of  Pramol 
and  Peumian,  to  the  north  of  San  Germain,  an  Alpine  district ; 
and,  IV.  That  of  Prarustin,  with  Rocheplatte  as  a  dependency. 
The  parish  church  is  that  of  San  Barthelemi. 


C. — The  Valley  of  Lucerna. 

The  valley  of  Lucerna  has  six  large  parishes,  which  are  so 
many  populous  communes.  I.  Angrogna,  to  the  west  of  Pra- 
rustin and  Rocheplatte ;  this  parish  has  two  temples,  that  of 
Saint  Laurent,  near  which  the  pastor  dwells,  and  that  of  Le 
Serre.  II.  San  Giovanni,  to  the  south  of  Angrogna  :  the  tem- 
ple is  at  Blonats,  in  the  centre  of  the  parish :  it  was  formerly  at 
Ciabas  on  the  Angrogna.  III.  The  church  of  La  Torre,  to  the 
west  of  San  Giovanni :  the  temple  is  at  the  hamlet  called  Les 
Coppiers  :  near  it  is  the  hospital.  The  Vaudois  possess,  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  town  of  La  Torre,  two  interesting  establish- 
ments— a  college,  and  a  girl's  boarding-school.  IV.  Proceeding 
westward,  we  meet  first  with  the  parish  of  Villaro,  with  a  town 
of  the  same  name,  containing  the  church ;  then,  V.  That  of  Bob- 
bio,  which  occupies  all  the  lower  part  of  the  valley ;  the  parish 
temple  is  in  the  village  of  that  name.  Two  chapels  belong  to 
this  parish,  the  one  in  La  Combe  des  Charbonniers,  the  other  in 
La  Combe  de  la  Ferriere.  Lastly,  VI.  The  parish  of  Rora,  the 
smallest  of  those  in  the  valley  of  Lucerna ;  it  is  to  the  south  of 
that  of  La  Torre,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  a  ridge  of  steep 
and  naked  rocks. 


STATISTICS. 
A. — Population. 

The  Vaudois  population  of  the  valleys  amounted  in  1839  to 
more  than  twenty  thousand  souls,  exclusive  of  four  or  five  thou- 
sand Roman  Catholics;  a  number  far  too  large  for  the  extent 
of  territory,  taking  into  account  the  nature  of  the  soil. 

According  to  the  census  made  by  order  of  government,  of  the 
date  1839,  the  exact  numbers  were  for  the  communes: — Vau- 
dois, 20,394  ;  Catholics,  4,589. 

17* 


394  APPENDIX. 


B. — Climate  and  Productions. 

The  Vaudois  valleys,  from  their  southern  situation  and  their 
outlet  on  the  plains  of  Piedmont,  would  naturally  have  the  warm 
temperature  of  the  south,  if  their  lofty  mountains,  and  the  con- 
siderable elevation  of  the  greater  part  of  the  soil  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  did  not  counterbalance  this  effect. 

The  air  is  generally  pure  and  healthy  in  these  valleys.  Shel- 
tered from  the  north  winds  by  the  mountains,  the  climate  is  mild 
and  temperate,  but  varies  according  to  the  height  of  the  locali- 
ties. Snow  falls  in  great  quantities  in  all  the  Alpine  region,  and 
the  avalanches  cause  frequent  accidents. 

The  soil  in  the  lower  part  of  the  valleys,  and  on  the  neigh- 
bouring hills,  is  fertile.  The  vine  succeeds  there,  as  well  as 
wheat,  maize,  the  mulberry,  and  other  good  fruit-trees ;  even  the 
fig-tree,  in  the  open  air. 

The  middle  region  has  all  the  productions  which  belong  to 
that  altitude;  wheat,  rye,  maize,  oats,  barley,  potatoes,  etc., 
likewise  the  common  fruit-trees,  and  chestnuts  in  great  quanti- 
ties. 

Such  are  the  rich  productions  of  the  most  fertile  part  of  these 
valleys.  One-third,  probably,  or  at  least  one-fourth  of  their  ex- 
tent, which  is  from  about  twenty  to  twenty-four  square  leagues, 
is  thus  favoured.  But  two-thirds,  or  perhaps  three-fourths,  of 
this  extent  of  country  presents  nothing  but  precipices,  ravines, 
naked  rocks,  and  Alpine  districts,  or  such  as  have  a  northern 
aspect.  The  cultivation  of  the  land  is  here  very  laborious  and 
unproductive.  The  inhabitants  in  different  places  are  reduced 
to  cultivate  some  small  patches  of  ground  among  the  rocks,  to 
which  they  must  carry  mould  on  their  backs.  A  great  part  of 
the  population  only  live  by  the  product  obtained  from  a  few 
cattle — cows,  goats,  and  sheep. 

No  branch  of  industry,  excepting  the  labour  of  the  field,  and 
the  care  of  cattle,  can  be  carried  on  to  any  extent  among  this 
population,  who  are  naturally  active,  but  on  bad  terms  with 
their  neighbours.  The  sale  of  articles  of  daily  consumption  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  Roman  Catholics  at  Pinerolo,  and  in  the 
other  small  towns  of  the  neighbourhood,  where  all  the  markets 
are  held. 


APPENDIX.  805 

The  Vaudois  valleys  do  not  produce  in  sufficient  quantity  for 
their  population  the  provisions  that  are  most  necessary,  which 
therefore  have  to  be  purchased.  If  they  have  some  productions 
in  superabundance,  such  as  butter,  cheese,  potatoes,  fruits,  the 
inhabitants  cannot  dispose  of  them  for  want  of  suitable  channels. 
The  only  market  of  considerable  size  is  that  of  Pinerolo ;  but 
besides  that  it  is  not  accessible  to  all  the  localities  of  the  valleys, 
provisions  abound  there  already  in  every  direction. 

C. — Religious   Administration  of   the  Vaudois 
Churches. 

All  that  relates  to  the  relief  of  the  poor,  to  hospitals,  to  educa- 
tion, and  to  the  religious  affairs  of  the  Vaudois,  is  the  result  of 
an  administration  formed  from  among  themselves,  in  the  nomi- 
nation of  which  all  the  churches  of  the  valleys  take  a  part.  This 
administration  is  particular  or  general. 

Each  church  has  its  parochial  administration.  The  heads  of 
families  united  with  their  pastor  form  the  church.  The  popula- 
tion, generally  dispersed,  is  divided  into  districts.  The  indivi- 
duals of  a  district  choose,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  consistory, 
an  elder,  or  inspector,  who  enjoys  certain  prerogatives.  When 
the  choice  is  agreed  upon,  the  name  of  the  person  chosen  is 
proclaimed  aloud  from  the  pulpit.  If  no  opposition  be  made, 
he  is  publicly  installed  into  his  office,  consecrated  by  prayer, 
and  becomes  a  member  of  the  consistory,  who  regulate  the 
affairs  of  the  parish,  under  the  presidency  of  the  pastor,  and  ex- 
ercise discipline  there. 

The  general  administration  is  composed  of  a  Synod  and  a 
Board. 

The  Synod  is  composed  of  the  pastor  and  ministers  resident 
in  the  valleys,  (the  chaplain  of  the  ambassadors  at  Turin  is  also 
admitted  to  it,)  and  a  lay  delegation  from  each  of  the  five 
parishes.  These  delegations  may  consist  of  more  than  one 
deputy,  but  each  delegation  has  but  one  vote.  The  Synod  meets 
specially  when  any  business  requires  it,  and  regularly  at  the  end 
of  four  or  five  years,  with  the  permission  of  the  sovereign,  who 
is  represented  in  it  by  the  supci'intendent  of  the  province.  The 
members  of  the  Synod,  the  sittings  of  which  last  for  two  or  three 
days,  and  the  king's  representative,  have  their  expenses  paid  by 


396  APPENDIX. 

the  parishes  or  communes.  The  Synod  prepares  and  determines 
all  the  administrative  regulations,  names  the  members  of  the 
administration  called  the  Board,  examines  its  proceedings,  passes 
its  accounts,  and  decides  on  all  important  affairs. 

The  Board  is  composed  of  five  members ;  three  ecclesiastics 
and  two  laymen.  They  are  chosen  according  to  certain  rules, 
at  the  beginning  of  each  Synod,  and  remain  in  office  till  the 
opening  of  the  next  Synod.  The  ecclesiastical  members  perform 
the  functions  of  moderator,  or  president,  assistant-moderator,  or 
vice-president,  and  secretary. 


THE  END. 

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